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7 


EARLY  DAYS  AT 
ST.  MARY'S 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://archive.org/details/earlydaysatstmarOOIeff 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 

KNOXVILLE,  ILLINOIS 


BY  THE 

REV.  CHARLES  WESLEY  LEFFINGWELL,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

RECTOR  EMERITUS  OF  ST.  MARY'S  SCHOOL 


THE  MOREHOUSE  PUBLISHING  CO. 

MILWAUKEE 

1926 


'     COPYRIGHT    BY 

MOREHOUSE  PUBLISHING  CO. 
1926 


Charles  Wesley  Leffingwell 

Rector-emeritus   St.    Mary's   School,    Knoxville,   Illinois 


/» 


TO   HER 

WHO  GAVE  TO  ST.  MARY'S  IN 
THE  EARLY  DAYS  A  MOTHER'S  CARE 

TO  MY  WIFE  ELIZABETH 

BELOVED  COMPANION  AND  HELPER 
FOR  SIXTY-FOUR  YEARS 

IS  INSCRIBED  THIS  BOOK 


4 


PRINCIPAL  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

Knoxville,  Illinois.  Ewing  Female  University.  Poughkeepsie  Military 
Institute.  Nashotah  Theological  Seminary.  Lakeside  Academy.  Bishop 
Kemper.  Dr.  Cole.  Dr.  Adams.  Dr.  Hugh  Miller  Thompson.  The  Hebard 
House,  Knoxville.  Mrs.  Keightley.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hester.  Preparations. 
Nancy  Meneely  Hitchcock.    Plans  for  the  School. 

CHAPTER  II 

Opening  the  School,  April  13,  1868.  St.  John's  Parish  Church.  End  of 
First  Term.  Tableaux.  "The  Lord  will  Provide."  Dr.  Samuel  Chase,  and 
Jubilee  College.  Financial  Difficulties.  Cornelius  Runkle.  Wages  and 
Produce. 

CHAPTER  III 

Students  of  the  Early  Days.  First  Valedictorian.  Anna  Francis,  Teacher. 
Edward  H.  Rudd.  Family  Spirit.  Bishop  Whitehouse.  First  Anniversary. 
Another  Deficit.  Vacation  for  Two.  J.  S.  Brewer.  W.  N.  Phillips.  Number 
Thirty-five.   The  First  Graduation.    Clara  Wilson,  Valedictory  of  1870. 

CHAPTER  IV 

A  Paradox.  The  Bishop's  Commendation.  The  Third  Year.  Church 
Relation.  The  Fourth  Year.  The  Chicago  Fire.  Payment  of  the  Debt. 
James   Knox.   The   Palladium.   Thanksgiving   Day.  The   Rector's   Birthday. 

CHAPTER  V 

Ten  Thousand  Dollars!  Proposed  Extension.  Breaking  Ground.  Laying 
the  Corner-stone.  Organ  for  the  Study  Hall.  "Blind  Charles."  Fifth  Year, 
1872-73.  The  New  Building.  Fifth  Anniversary.  Toasts  and  Responses. 
Illumination  of  the  Building.  "Winter."  After  Chicago  Fire.  The  Holidays. 
Pyr(e)otechnics.   Letters  from  Mr.  Knox.   Lowber  Burrows. 

CHAPTER  VI 

A  Vacation  in  Europe.  The  New  Building  Illuminated.  Death  of  Bishop 
Whitehouse.  Tributes  to  him.  The  Diocesan  Paper.  "The  Living  Church." 
Bishop  Talbot.  Dr.  DeKoven.  Dr.  Locke.  Dr.  Cushman.  Illness  of  the 
Rector.  Dr.  Stocking.  The  House  Afire.  The  good  Wife.  Awakening 
Carols.  Anniversary  Week,  1875.  A  Bishop  at  Easter.  Reciting  the  Cate- 
chism. Mr.  Percival.  Dr.  Cross.  Toasts  and  Responses.  Baptism  by  Dr. 
DeKoven.    Resolutions  of  Trustees.    Sleigh  Rides. 

VII 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

CHAPTER  VII 

Bishop  McLaren.  Louise  Nichols.  Long  terms  of  Service.  Charlotte 
Campbell.  Emily  Seamans,  John  F.  Somes.  James  and  Mary  Farrell. 
Kurtz  Sanders.  Dr.  McClelland.  Dr.  Becker.  Judge  Sanford.  Zelotes 
Cooley.  "The  Living  Church,"  Chicago.  Devoted  Teachers.  Death  of 
Mr.  Knox.  In  Memoriam.  Ninth  Anniversary.  Petition  for  Holiday.  After- 
dinner  Speeches.  Rev.  S.  T.  Allen.  H.  H.  Candee.  R.  P.  Johnston.  Conven- 
tion Resolutions.  Rector's  Report.  Sigma  Mu  Society.  Operetta.  Church 
Families. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

The  Decennial.  Bishop  Burgess.  Re-union  Day.  In  Memoriam.  Bap- 
tism by  Bishop  Talbot.  Reception.  Graduates'  Day.  Helen  Williamson, 
Valedictory.  L.  Mary  Laning.  "The  Miller's  Child."  Saxe  and  Wraxe. 
Citizens'  Reception.    "The  Bells  of  St.  Mary's." 

CHAPTER  IX 

Mark  Twain  on  Trifles.  Dr.  Rudd,  Chaplain.  Professor  Carl  Laux. 
Bishop  Frederick  William  Taylor.  Bishop  George  F.  Seymour.  Bishop 
Charles  P.  Anderson.  Bishop  Sheldon  M.  Griswold.  Bishop  Edward  Faw- 
cett.  Presiding  Bishop,  Daniel  S.  Tuttle.  Vacation  Adventure.  Death  of 
Dr.  Chase,  and  Mr.  Allen.  Thanksgiving  Dinner,  and  Games.  "Bird  of 
the  Feast."    Rector's  Birthday.    Hamlet.    High  Art. 

CHAPTER  X 

Thirteenth  Anniversary.  Three  Bishops.  Chancellor  Judd.  Frightful 
Storm.  Graduates'  Day  Essays.  "Alma  Mater."  The  Birthday  Cake.  York- 
town.  Quaint  Procession.  Fan  Drill.  Washington  Reception.  The  Queen 
Responds.  Death  of  Miss  Darlington.  February  Twenty-second.  The 
Whole  Holiday.    Death  of  President  Garfield. 

CHAPTER  XI 

Trustees  Elected.  Rector's  Report.  Reorganization  of  the  Board.  Bishop 
Hare.  Pop  Corn  Party.  Corn-Seller's  Song.  Pedestrianism.  Advent  Hymn. 
Letter  from  the  Rector.  "Seven  Stages  Revised."  Mr.  Bigsby's  Rugby. 
Alphabet. 

CHAPTER  XII 

Work  and  Play.  Another  Birthday  Anniversary.  A  Day  in  the  Woods. 
An  Olympic  Ode.  Letter  from  the  Rector.  Launching  of  the  Boat.  A  Rhyme 
of  Rescue.  Sisters  Build  a  Church.  Stories  by  the  Bishop.  Judge  Drum- 
mond's  Decision.    Science  and  Matrimony.    St.  Mary's  Revisited. 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Our  Gothic  Chapel.  Description.  Organ,  Font,  and  Furniture.  Breaking 
Ground.  Bishop's  Appeal.  Corner-stone.  Hymn,  by  Miss  Hitchcock.  Con- 
tents of  Box.  Inscription.  Stone  Covered  with  Silver.  Bishop  Seymour's 
Address.    Bishop    McLaren's    Address.    Working   for    Chapel.    Services    and 

Consecration. 

VIII 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

CHAPTER  XIV 

The  Supreme  Tragedy.  A  Sudden  Awakening.  Blanket  Costumes.  "The 
Last  Call."  Two  in  Peril.  Fall  with  Ladder.  Final  Recovery.  Miss  Hosford 
and  Miss  Gillette.  The  Rector  Telegraphs.  Citizens  Give  Shelter.  Family 
Goes  to  Poor-house.  Guardian  Angels.  Ewing  Keightley.  Origin  of  Fire. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Rosenburg.    Consoling  Messages. 

CHAPTER  XV 

A  Ray  of  Hope.  President  Princell's  Offer.  Ansgari  College.  A  Crippled 
Leader.  Good  Bishop  Garrett.  The  Annex.  Contributions.  Mrs.  Fairbanks. 
School  Re-opens.  Rector's  Address.  Rainbow  Arches  Vesuvius.  Ash- 
Wednesday.    Revealed  by  Fire.    A  Thrilling  Experience. 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Baccalaureate  in  Opera  House.  Three  Bishops.  Injured  Recovering. 
Corner-stone  Laid.  Bishop  Garrett's  Address.  The  New  Building.  Safe- 
guards. Class  Banner.  Concert  in  Opera  House.  Sleigh  Ride.  Knoxville 
Ladies  Work  for  Library.  Good  Times  in  the  Annex.  Irving  Centennial. 
Exploring  the  Ruins.    A  Happy  Easter. 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Re-opening  in  New  Building.  The  Sixteenth  Anniversary.  Rector's 
Address.  Luncheon,  Toasts,  and  Responses.  Dus  Benjamin,  Cora  Lingo, 
Belle  Sanford,  Carrie  Castle.  The  Box  from  China.  Letter  from  Izumi 
Wei.  The  Meneely  Bell.  Bishop's  Reception.  The  Rev.  William  B.  Morrow. 
"Coming  Back."    Hamlet. 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

Progress.  Macbeth.  Bean  Bags.  Essays  Not  to  be  Read.  Memorial 
Windows.  Valentine's  Day.  A  Wedding,  Carrie  Elliot.  Wandering  Mins- 
trels. "Patience."  Helen  Johns  Moore.  Rev.  George  Wallace.  Psychological 
Complex.  Fire  on  the  Hearth.  My  Journey.  A  June  Bug.  A  Compliment. 
Field  and  Garden. 

CHAPTER  XIX 

Nineteenth  Anniversary.  Toasts  and  Responses;  Mary  Reynolds,  Chris- 
tiana Burgess,  Dr.  Rudd,  The  Observatory.  Sympathetic  Tears.  The  Park 
Completed.  Rev.  C.  R.  Hodge.  The  Last  Centennial.  Close  of  School.  Julia 
Derby.  Robert  Pilcher.  The  Annunciation.  Diplomas  in  Latin.  A  Christ- 
mas Tree.  Improvements.  "Passed."  Tennis.  A  Wreck.  Statistics.  Prac- 
tical Education.    More  Improvements.    Seeing  the  President. 

CHAPTER  XX 

Selecting  Officers.  Emma  Pease  Howard.  The  Old  and  the  New.  Chicago 
Reunion.  Mrs.  Leffingwell.  St.  Mary's  Club,  Chicago.  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion. Club  Chantant.  Oglesby  Wedding.  Columbus  Day.  First  Grandchild. 
Washington's  Anniversary.  Harriet  Butler,  Champion.  Choral  Church 
Service.  Founders  and  Benefactors.  "To  St.  Mary's."  San  Mateo. 

IX 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

CHAPTER  XXI 

The  Tricennial  Celebration,  1868-1898.  "Our  Love  to  Thee  St.  Mary's." 
Loyalty  to  Alma  Mater.  "L'Envoi." 

SUPPLEMENT 

Some  School  Girl  Compositions:  "The  Bulletin  Board";  "Spiders";  "Lit- 
tle Women";  "A  Dream  in  a  Library";  "The  Woeful  Ballad  of  Little  Bo- 
Peep";  "The  Mouse  in  Literature";  "Oh!";  "John  Saws  Wood";  "Pentame- 
ters and  Hexameters";  "Birds  of  a  Feather." 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

St.  Mary's  School,  Knoxville,  Illinois Frontispiece 

Facing  Page 

Charles  Wesley  Leffingwell v 

Knox  College,  Galesburg,  Illinois 2 

Nashotah  Theological  Seminary,  Wisconsin,  in  1850 4 

Hebard  House,  Knoxville,  Illinois,  in  1844 6 

Nancy  Meneely  Hitchcock 10 

Edward  H.  Rudd — Anna  Francis  Rudd 24 

Hon.  James  Knox,  LL.D 48 

St.  Mary's  School 58 

Rt.  Rev.  Henry  John  Whitehouse,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  D.C.L 72 

Elizabeth  Francis  Leffingwell 78 

A  Holiday  in  Gilbert's  Park 96 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Daniel  Sylvester  Tuttle,  D.D.,  Primus 124 

Anniversary  Dinner,  1907 138 

Pleasant  Ways  of  the  Early  Days 152 

The  Landing 168 

Interior  of  St.  Mary's  Church 174 

St.  Mary's  Church  and  Cloisters 186 

St.  Ansgarius'  College,  1883 206 

View  from  the  South 218 

Study   Hall 232 

Reception   and  Drawing  Rooms 242 

"The  Fire  on  the  Hearth" — Mrs.  Leffingwell's  Rooms   .     .     .     .250 

Observatory   and   Mirror   Lake 258 

Entrance  to  Cloisters 266 

Emma  Pease  Howard 272 

Washington's  Birthday:  A  Minuet 278 

The  Rector.  On  Founder's  Day,  1915 280 

View  from   the   West 284 

The  "Bower" — The  Gymnasium 290 

Francis  L.  Carrington,  LL.D 296 

The  Rector's  Study 308 

The  Bowling  Alleys — The  Swimming  Pool 312 

XI 


SCHOOL  MOTTO: 

Blessed  are  the  Pure  in  Heart, 

for  they  shall  see  God." 


SCHOOL  COLORS 
Blue  and  White. 


CHAPTER  I 

NOXVILLE,  Illinois,  in  the  eighteen-six- 
ties,  was  the  county  seat  of  Knox  County, 
the  oldest  settlement  between  the  Illinois 
and  the  Mississippi  rivers.  In  those  days, 
many  small  towns  in  Illinois  had  a  college  decoration 
of  some  sort:  Knoxville  had  a  university,  chartered  by 
the  Legislature  of  Illinois.  Endowed  with  a  three-story 
brick  building  and  a  high  sounding  name,  and  with 
nothing  else,  the  Ewing  Female  University  had  a  brave 
but  brief  career;  the  doors  were  closed,  soon  to  be 
opened  for  an  educational  enterprise  of  a  less  preten- 
tious aim  and  name. 

With  its  debt  of  several  thousand  dollars,  the  vacant 
property  was  offered  to  the  Diocese  of  Illinois  on  condi- 
tion of  establishing  and  maintaining  for  four  years  a 
successful  school.  On  approval  of  Bishop  Whitehouse, 
I  accepted  the  invitation  to  conduct  the  school,  begin- 
ning in  April,  1868.  This  decision  determined  my  ca- 
reer for  half  a  century;  indeed,  for  life ;  and  the  wonder 
of  it  was  that  I  did  not  seek  or  desire  the  work,  and  had 
not  thought  of  preparing  myself  especially  for  such  a 
work.  Yet,  without  any  plan  or  purpose  on  my  part, 
except  to  secure  an  income,  I  did  have  some  very  help- 
ful experiences.  During  vacations  and  interruptions  of 
my  college  course,  I  had  "paid  my  way"  by  several 
terms  of  teaching,  of  which  the  most  interesting  were 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

the  two  years  as  Principal  of  the  Galveston  Academy, 
which  I  organized  in  i860. 

But  the  really  important,  indispensable  preparation 
was  gained  (after  graduating  from  Knox)  during  my 
three  years  as  Vice-Principal  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Mili- 
tary Institute,  under  Dr.  C.  B.  Warring.  In  an  historical 
sketch  which  appeared  in  the  P.M.I.  Cadet,  many 
years  after  my  retirement,  is  the  following  reference 
to  my  service  in  the  Institute : 

"In  October,  1862,  Mrs.  Wright,  the  excellent  wife  of  Colonel 
Wright,  both  of  whom  will  always  be  remembered  by  the  earlier 
cadets  for  the  interest  they  manifested  in  the  school,  drove  up  to  the 
building  and  introduced  Mr.  C.  W.  Leffingwell,  who  was  seeking  a 
position  as  teacher.  He  had  been  engaged  in  the  South  in  that  capacity, 
until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  drove  him  to  the  North.  The  Doctor 
had  from  the  first  intended  that  this  school  should  be  a  military  school, 
and  so  Mr.  Leffingwell's  coming  seemed  providential. 

"In  addition  to  his  duties  as  Military  Instructor,  Mr.  Leffingwell 
had  general  charge  of  the  English  studies.  He  remained  till  the  fall 
of  '65,  when  he  left  to  become  an  Episcopal  clergyman.  He  completed 
his  studies,  was  admitted  to  Orders,  and,  after  a  little,  returned 
to  his  original  profession,  for  which  he  has  rare  qualifications. 

"Under  Mr.  Leffingwell  we  had  our  first  encampment.  Those 
who  were  present  will  always  remember  the  pleasures  of  camp  week. 
We  used  to  have  a  dress  parade  every  evening,  and  a  band  twice  or 
three  times  during  the  week.  Why,  Mr.  Editor,  I  have  seen  the 
front  yard  so  crowded  with  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  carriages  and  on 
foot,  that  we  had  to  post  guards  to  keep  them  back. 

"Mr.  Leffingwell  was  very  much  respected  and  loved  by  the 
pupils.  I  suspect  the  young  ladies  of  his  great  school  at  Knoxville, 
Illinois  (St.  Mary's  School)  would  hardly  think  that  their  grave  and 
reverend  Principal,  now  a  Doctor  of  Divinity,  and  the  editor  of  a 
most  prosperous  Church  paper,  could  ever  have  drilled  boys  in  the 
manual  of  arms,  but  it  is  even  so,  and  it  almost  takes  my  breath 
away  to  think  how  rapidly  the  intervening  years  have  glided  by." 

In  addition  to  my  regular  work  as  instructor  at 
P.M. I.,  I  was  permitted  to  share  in  the  general  duties 


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EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST,  MARTS 

and  interests  of  the  School;  and  my  wife,  as  assistant 
matron,  was  becoming  qualified  to  conduct  the  domes- 
tic department  of  a  similar  institution.  So,  without  in- 
tending it,  we  were  getting  ready  for  St.  Mary's  I* 

"You  will  spoil  a  good  teacher  to  make  a  poor 
preacher,"  was  Dr.  Warring's  comment  on  my  resig- 
nation. After  three  years  of  strenuous  service  under 
him,  I  had  decided  to  complete  my  theological  course, 
and,  at  the  risk  of  being  a  poor  preacher,  to  devote 
myself  to  the  ministry. 

SO  ended,  as  I  supposed,  my  pedagogical  career,  and 
with  great  satisfaction  I  entered  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Nashotah,  Wisconsin.  One  can  scarcely 
realize,  without  the  experience,  what  a  blessed  relief 
comes  from  such  a  change;  from  the  strain  of  discipline 
and  the  burden  of  responsibility,  to  the  calm  and  peace- 
ful life  of  a  student.  In  this  blessed  state  of  receptivity, 
sheltered  in  a  little  house  near  the  lake,  with  my  wife 
and  child  I  dwelt,  with  never  a  thought  of  "keeping 
school"  again. 

"Then  were  we  like  unto  them  that  dream."  But 
this  dream  of  unencumbered  student  life  did  not  last 
long.  Among  the  families  connected  with  the  Seminary 
and  in  the  country  adjacent,  there  were  a  number  of 
boys  and  girls  for  whom  there  was  no  convenient  school, 
and  I  was  induced  to  care  for  them  as  private  pupils, 
in  our  own  house.  After  breakfast  was  cleared  away 
we  arranged  the  room  for  study.  My  wife  and  her  sis- 
ter, in  addition  to  household  duties,  attended  to  all  the 
details  of  teaching,  while  I  gave  what  help  I  could. 

When  we  formed  this  class  only  a  little  family 

*  Perhaps  my  residence  in  Poughkeepsie  was  of  advantage  later,  in  the  opportunity 
it  gave  me  to  become  acquainted  with  several  prominent  schools  for  girls,  notably 
with  the  beautiful  schools  of  Dr.  Wright  and  Dr.  Rider. 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

school  was  thought  of,  but  the  demand  for  increased 
service  and  accommodations  soon  called  for  a  school 
building.  This  we  were  able  to  provide  from  an  appro- 
priation by  the  trustees  of  the  Seminary  and  from  sub- 
scriptions by  neighbors  who  were  interested.  Bishop 
Kemper  was  among  our  subscribers,  and  was  very  kind 
in  giving  his  approval  and  encouragement.  Dr.  Hugh 
Miller  Thompson  (later,  Bishop  of  Mississippi), 
whose  family  resided  near  us  and  whose  children  at- 
tended the  school,  was  another  good  friend  and  sub- 
scriber. With  the  new  school  house,  we  soon  had  to 
provide  sheds  for  the  shelter  of  the  teams  which  our 
boys  and  girls  used  in  coming  to  the  school  from  the 
country  round  about.  I  think  the  school  was  called  The 
Lakeside  Academy,  and  we  had  from  forty  to  fifty 
students  in  attendance.  I  remember  that  in  winter  I 
brought  the  wood  and  made  the  fire  in  the  school-room, 
and  daily  conducted  the  service  for  the  opening  at  nine 
o'clock;  from  there  I  went  to  my  duties  at  the  Seminary. 
I  was  able  also  to  give  some  attention  to  the  school  in 
the  afternoon. 

So,  within  a  year,  and  without  intending  to  resume 
school  duties  from  which  I  supposed  I  was  finally  and 
completely  separated,  I  was  conducting  a  school  which 
had  considerable  promise  of  usefulness  and  permanence. 

THE  above  narrative  perhaps  would  not  be  worthy 
of  record,  except  as  it  introduces  and  explains  my 
call  to  the  work  in  Illinois,  which  came  about  in  this 
way: 

After  I  had  graduated  at  Nashotah,  I  was  acting 
as  tutor  to  the  preparatory  students  there,  while  con- 
ducting the  little  academy  to  which  I  have  referred. 
My  record  in  Poughkeepsie  was  known  to  friends  in 


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73 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

the  vicinity  of  Knoxville,  Illinois,  and  they  made  the 
suggestion  that  I  might  be  available  for  the  proposed 
school.  Negotiations  were  opened.  One  step  led  to  an- 
other, and  arrangements  were  finally  made  for  me  to 
establish  the  school. 

I  never  could  understand  how  it  all  came  about; 
the  more  I  have  thought  of  it,  the  more  I  have  won- 
dered how  I  could  have  accepted  the  call;  and  still 
more,  as  time  went  on,  I  have  wondered  how  I  could 
have  endured  the  uncertainties,  anxieties,  and  hard- 
ships of  the  first  few  years  of  that  hazardous  enterprise. 
I  cannot  attribute  my  decision  to  wise  forethought  or 
practical  judgment.  I  have  always  felt  that  I  was  led 
to  the  conclusion,  and  sustained  in  the  trials  that  fol- 
lowed, by  wisdom  and  strength  beyond  my  own.  Indeed, 
in  looking  back  over  my  life,  I  seem  to  have  had  very 
little  control  over  its  great  issues.  I  have  tried  to  con- 
form to  the  conditions  under  which  I  was  placed,  with- 
out giving  anxious  consideration  as  to  where  they  might 
lead.  If  I  have  done  anything  worth  while,  in  one  direc- 
tion or  another,  it  has  not  been  because  I  sought  to  go 
in  that  direction,  but  because  I  seemed  to  be  led  that 
way,  and  was  blessed  with  the  assurance  that  it  would 
be  well. 

1  CANNOT  leave  Nashotah  for  the  great  adventure 
in  Illinois,  without  expressing  my  profound  grati- 
tude for  the  kind  Providence  which  ordered  my  steps  to 
that  blessed  retreat,  to  that  center  of  learning  and  piety 
set  down  between  the  lakes  and  surrounded  by  the  for- 
ests of  that  beautiful  region  of  Wisconsin.  Coming  from 
a  strenuous  life  and  the  exacting  duties  of  a  responsible 
position,  the  quiet  and  calm  and  the  spiritual  atmos- 
phere of  that  retirement  made  a  profound  impression 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

upon  my  mind  and  personality.  For  the  first  time,  I 
was  brought  in  touch  with  some  of  the  great  minds  of 
the  Church,  and  was  granted  an  insight  into  the  ancient 
learning,  history,  and  faith  of  the  Church.  Dr.  A.  D. 
Cole  was  at  the  time  president  of  that  school  of  the 
prophets;  a  kindly,  genial,  well-balanced  man,  with 
whom  and  with  whose  family  our  relations  were  most 
pleasant  during  our  brief  life  at  Nashotah.  Dr.  Adams 
and  Dr.  Hugh  Miller  Thompson  were  the  great  and 
brilliant  teachers  under  whom  it  was  my  privilege  to 
sit,  and  under  whose  magnetic  influence  my  own  intel- 
lectual powers  were  stimulated.  Dr.  Lewis  Kemper  was 
another  genial  and  helpful  master,  with  whom  it  was 
a  blessed  privilege  to  be  associated.  I  can  never  forget 
nor  fully  repay  the  favors  that  were  granted  me  in  many 
ways,  during  my  brief  life  there.  I  am  only  one  of  many 
hundreds  who,  I  am  sure,  would  bear  eloquent  witness 
to  the  blessings  received  while  students  and  residents 
of  that  happy  community. 

When  I  last  visited  Nashotah,  things  were  somewhat 
changed,  but  the  school-house  that  was  built  for  my 
Lakeside  Academy  still  stood  there  under  the  old  trees, 
no  longer  diffusing  the  light  of  elementary  learning  in 
that  little  world,  but  serving  perhaps  a  better  purpose 
as  a  dormitory  for  the  preparatory  students  over  whom, 
for  a  time,  I  had  been  placed  as  a  tutor.  The  old  chapel 
and  library,  the  scene  of  the  first  heroic  mission  at 
Nashotah,  had  disappeared,  and  the  dignified  cloisters 
and  dormitories  built  of  solid  stone,  looked  out  from 
the  crest  of  the  hill  over  the  placid  waters  of  the  lake. 

IT  was  a  cheerless  and  blustering  day  in  March,  when, 
with  my  wife  and  infant  daughter,  I  came  to  Knox- 
ville  to  complete  preparations  for  opening  of  the  school 

6 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

in  April.  As  always  in  March,  "the  skies  they  were 
ashen  and  sober."  The  wide  and  windy  landscape  of  the 
mid-west  through  which  we  journeyed  gave  no  token  of 
approaching  spring,  suggested  no  cheer  for  man,  bird, 
or  beast.  But  we  were  young  and  hopeful,  happy  in  the 
thought  of  "new  worlds  to  conquer,"  heedless  of  signs 
and  seasons  and  the  state  of  the  weather. 

We  made  our  temporary  abode  in  Knoxville,  at 
the  old  Hebard  House,  taking  the  room  in  which  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  rested,  a  few  years  before,  when  on  his 
way  to  Galesburg  for  one  of  his  famous  political  debates 
with  Douglas.  Half  a  century  after,  on  the  spot  in  Gales- 
burg where  Lincoln  spoke,  I  listened  to  an  address  by 
Mr.  Taft,  then  a  candidate  for  the  presidency. 

The  Hebard  House  was  a  monument  of  pioneer 
days,  its  date,  1844,  being  painted  large  on  the  street 
front.  It  was  the  "half  way  house"  between  the  Missis- 
sippi and  Illinois  rivers,  where  the  stages  changed 
horses. 

Our  residence  "in  town,"  though  only  for  a  short 
time,  helped  us  to  the  acquaintance  and  good  will  of 
the  citizens,  and  was  the  beginning  of  the  cordial  rela- 
tions that  have  always  existed  between  the  School  and 
the  town.  At  a  reception  given  to  us  in  the  hotel,  we 
met  some  of  the  "old  settlers"  and  many  of  those  of 
later  day,  all  eager  to  see  the  man  who  had  come  to 
open  the  "seminary."  Many  years  after,  Mrs.  Keightley, 
shaking  with  laughter,  told  me  that  as  she  entered  the 
crowded  room  that  night,  I  was  pointed  out  to  her,  and 
she  exclaimed,  almost  loud  enough  for  me  to  hear, 
"What!  that  boy?" 

But  I  was  not  conscious  of  being  so  very  young 
(twenty-seven,  "going  on  eight!"),  for  I  had  begun  the 
serious  work  of  life  at  sixteen.  I  note  that  Dr.  DeKoven 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

was  only  twenty-eight  when  he  became  head  of  Racine 
College. 

A  few  days  later  I  was  embarrassed  by  a  similar 
remark,  on  being  introduced  as  "the  man  who  had  come 
to  open  the  new  school."  "Well,  now,  I  declare!  You 
do  look  rather  young!"  was  the  frank  but  kindly  greet- 
ing; to  which  I  was  able  to  stammer  the  response  that 
I  hoped  time  would  cure  that.  "All  things  come  to  him 
who  waits  I" 

With  Mr.  Keightley,  whose  wife  is  mentioned 
above,  I  had  an  amusing  encounter,  some  years  after, 
when  the  legal  transfer  of  the  Ewing  property  was 
about  to  be  made  under  our  new  name.  Keightley  ob- 
jected to  the  change  of  name  to  St.  Mary's.  In  consider- 
ation of  a  large  subscription,  he  had  acquired  the  right 
to  name  the  University,  and  had  given  it  the  name  of 
Ewing,  the  family  name  of  his  wife.  I  happened  to 
know  that  her  first  name  was  Mary,  and  so  I  argued 
that  he  might  consider  our  proposed  name,  St.  Mary's, 
as  referring  to  her!  But  he  was  not  to  be  put  off  by 
pleasantry,  however  flattering.  I  paid  him  five  hundred 
dollars  for  a  "quit  claim."  I  think  Mrs.  Keightley  never 
knew  how  near  she  came  to  being  canonized! 

BUT  there  was  little  time  for  social  attentions,  during 
the  month  preceding  our  opening.  The  work  of 
cleaning  and  repairing  was  already  well  advanced, 
under  the  direction  of  William  Hester,  Warden  of  our 
St.  John's  parish  in  Knoxville.  Of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hes- 
ter I  should  like  to  make  more  than  this  brief  mention. 
Their  helpful  friendship  began  when  I  was  a  student 
at  Knox  in  1862.  As  a  lay- reader  I  came  over  to  Knox- 
ville from  time  to  time,  on  Sunday  afternoons,  to  read 
the  service,  and  rested  at  their  pretty  cottage  from  my 

8 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

ten-mile  walk.  They  were  English  people  of  refinement, 
delighting  in  flowers  and  in  old  china.  Their  cooperat- 
ion in  the  preparatory  work  at  St.  Mary's  was  of  great 
value. 

The  conditions  under  which  that  work  was  begun 
would  seem  to  us  at  this  day  quite  hopeless.  The  build- 
ing of  the  abandoned  university,  though  substantial,  was 
unattractive  and  out  of  repair;  the  grounds  were  un- 
graded prairie,  without  tree  or  shrub  or  decoration  of 
any  kind  except  for  a  row  of  young  maples  growing 
outside  the  old  front  fence.  The  only  water  supply  was 
from  a  well,  the  only  provision  for  heating  was  by 
stoves,  there  was  not  even  a  fire-place;  no  plumbing, 
not  even  a  drain  pipe.  Plumbing  was  almost  unknown  in 
that  day,  outside  the  big  cities.  In  Knox  County  there 
was  only  one  bath  tub  when  St.  Mary's  was  opened.  For 
the  first  fifteen  years,  the  School  had  only  kerosene 
lamps  for  lighting.  A  wide  space  of  unbroken  prairie, 
with  a  few  small  houses  and  a  railroad  track,  lay  be- 
tween our  future  home  and  Knoxville. 

Perhaps  there  was  something  stimulating  in  the 
magnitude  of  the  difficulties  confronting  us. 

"The  blood  more  stirs 
To  rouse  a  lion  than  to  start  a  hare." 

Difficulties  and  disappointments  must  be  met  in  every 
enterprise  of  moment.  A  school  can  not  be  set  up,  like  a 
"ready  cut"  house,  on  a  prairie  in  Illinois,  or  even 
between  two  great  cities  like  Chicago  and  Milwaukee. 
"I  could  a  tale  unfold,"  about  Racine  College  and 
Kemper  Hall,  how  they  started  and  struggled  and 
stopped  and  started  again. 

Of  the  details  of  our  work  during  those  busy  April 
days,  no  one  would  care  to  hear;  indeed,  they  are  mostly 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

forgotten.  The  Paschal  moon  shone  down  with  kindly 
light  upon  our  new  school  home  where  we  were  ready 
to  open  the  doors  on  the  following  Monday. 

IN  OUR  preparation  for  the  opening  of  St.  Mary's 
School,  nothing  was  more  important  than  engage- 
ment of  a  Principal.  Of  course  I  was  much  concerned 
about  that,  for  executive  ability  is  the  most  difficult  to 
secure.  Without  advertising  or  aid  of  agencies,  indeed 
without  correspondence,  Miss  Hitchcock  was  engaged 
a  month  before  we  went  to  Knoxville.  For  twenty-five 
years  she  held  her  place,  without  question.  There  was 
no  change  or  desire  for  change,  until  the  term  of  her 
enlistment  had  expired. 

Nancy  Meneely  Hitchcock  was  a  graduate  of  the 
Emma  Willard  School,  the  pioneer  school  in  the  field 
of  higher  education  for  women  in  America.*  Miss 
Hitchcock's  efficiency,  influence,  and  impressive  per- 
sonality are  known  to  all  who  have  been  related  to  the 
School.  Through  her,  we  believe,  something  of  the 
high  ideals  and  fine  culture  of  the  great  school  in  Troy 
descended  to  St.  Mary's  and  profoundly  affected  its 
character  and  career. 

So  we  prepared,  as  best  we  could,  the  staging  of 
the  drama — the  properties,  scenery,  etc.;  but  what  of 
the  Play  itself?  Of  course  our  educational  plans  were 
not  elaborated  in  every  detail  at  first,  but  a  few  general 
principles  and  fixed  points  were  clear  at  the  start.  We 
had  what  the  engineers  call  a  "base  line"  from  which 
to  triangulate.  School,  Church,  and  Home  were  the 
three  dimensions,  so  to  speak,  of  the  little  world  which 
we  proposed  to  establish  there,  on  the  old  "Military 

*  In   recognition   of   Mrs.   Willard's   distinguished    services   a    monument   has   been 
erected  to  her  in  Troy. 

10 


Nancy  Meneely  Hitchcock 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Tract";  and  the  end  of  that  little  world's  evolution 
should  be  character  and  service : 

"The  Perfect  Woman  nobly  planned." 

We  were  there  to  establish  a  school;  not  a  reforma- 
tory, pleasure  resort,  sanitarium,  boarding  house  with 
a  pedagogic  annex,  but  first  of  all  a  school.  Our  business 
there  was  to  educate,  and  whatever  else  we  might  do 
or  leave  undone,  we  must  make  a  thoroughly  good 
school  or  fail,  and  deserve  to  fail. 

And  what  is  a  "thoroughly  good"  school?  A  school 
may  be  very  thorough  without  being  very  good.  I  re- 
member how  my  time  as  a  boy  was  not  always  profitably 
employed  in  the  memorizing  of  names  and  dates  and 
facts  and  figures  of  no  importance.  The  curriculum  in 
the  days  of  the  "little  red  school  house"  was  very  limit- 
ed, and  we  made  the  most  of  it. 

There  are  many  things  beside  thoroughness  required 
for  the  making  of  a  good  school.  At  St.  Mary's  one 
thing  we  had  in  mind,  and  have  kept  in  mind,  from  the 
beginning:  the  school  should  be  adapted  to  the  needs 
of  its  students.  Since  men  and  women  differ  in  tempera- 
ment and  constitution,  both  physical  and  mental,  the 
difference  should  be  recognized  in  the  ordering  of 
studies,  regulations,  and  recreations  of  a  school  for  the 
education  of  girls  and  young  women. 

And  that  school  should  be  founded  and  continued 
in  the  faith  and  fear  of  God,  for  other  foundation  there 
is  not  in  all  the  Universe.  Without  religion  there  is  no 
hope  in  schools  or  institutions  of  any  kind ;  no  hope  in 
art,  philosophy,  science,  civilization.  The  education 
which  ignores  the  fundamental  relation  of  the  soul  of 
man  to  the  Soul  of  the  Universe  is  a  delusion  and  a 
snare.  That  relation  of  the  soul  is  established,  main- 

ii 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

tained,  and  cherished  in  its  fulness  by  the  Gospel  and 
Kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ. 

St.  Mary's  should  be  a  CHURCH  SCHOOL,  not  a  con- 
vent, nor  a  compromise,  but  consistently  and  decidedly 
a  Church  School,  with  no  apology  for  its  teachings  or 
worship.  That  is  not  to  declare  it  a  propaganda  for  mak- 
ing "Episcopalians."  Its  propaganda  should  be  for  the 
promoting  of  pure  religion  by  making  religion  the 
rule  and  habit  of  every  day  life. 

In  its  scholastic  and  social  training,  the  School 
should  aim  to  give  to  its  students  broad  culture  and 
mental  discipline,  so  that  they  shall  be  known  as  edu- 
cated and  capable  women,  in  whatever  state  of  life  it 
may  please  God  to  call  them.  They  should  be  taught  to 
live  healthfully,  behave  soberly,  and  manage  their  af- 
fairs prudently. 

A  school  in  which  scholars  live,  as  well  as  study  and 
recite  and  exercise,  is,  for  the  time,  their  home.  It 
should  be  to  them  as  nearly  as  possible  all  that  the 
family  home  is;  often  it  is  more  and  better.  If  it  fails 
in  home  life,  in  home  care  and  influence,  great  is  the 
loss  thereby.  Habit,  temper,  and  disposition  are  estab- 
lished for  life,  largely  by  home  influence.  The  safety, 
honor,  and  welfare  of  the  nation  depend  upon  the  qual- 
ity and  character  of  its  homes  more  than  upon  "Con- 
gress assembled."  Fortunately,  "boarding  schools"  are 
generally  much  more  than  the  name  implies.  Our  pio- 
neer Church  School  "between  the  rivers"  must  be  a 
Home  SCHOOL;  students  and  teachers  closely  related 
as  in  a  family,  sharing  its  social  and  domestic  life. 

As  a  home,  St.  Mary's  should  provide  for  the  safety, 
comfort,  health,  and  happiness  of  those  committed  to 
her  care,  including,  as  far  as  possible,  all  that  pertains 
to  their  physical,  social,  and  domestic  life.  It  should 

12 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

prepare  its  students  to  adorn  the  family  and  social 
circle,  not  only  with  intellectual  culture,  but  also  with 
graceful  manners,  refined  tastes,  and  Christian  char- 
acter; truly  a  tremendous  charge,  not  to  be  entered  into 
unadvisedly  or  lightly,  but,  as  the  Marriage  service 
declares  of  matrimony,  "reverently,  discreetly,  advised- 
ly, soberly,  and  in  the  fear  of  God." 

These  shall  be  the  three  "dimensions"  of  our  school 
world;  Intellect,  Affection,  and  Religion;  these  three 
being  the  length,  breadth,  and  height  thereof. 


13 


CHAPTER  II 

[N  the  morning  of  the  thirteenth  day  of  April, 
1868,  St.  Mary's  School  was  opened  in  Knox- 
ville,  Illinois,  without  sounding  of  trumpets 
or  formal  ceremony.  Our  little  company  as- 
sembled for  Matins  in  the  great  Study  Hall,  and  in 
the  Collect  for  the  day  (it  was  Monday  in  Easter- week) 
we  found  the  prayer  that  we  most  desired  to  offer: 

"Almighty  God,  ....  we  humbly  beseech  thee  that  as  by  thy 
special  Grace  preventing  us  thou  dost  put  into  our  minds  good  desires, 
so  by  thy  continual  help  we  may  bring  the  same  to  good  effect." 

There  were  about  thirty  students  present,  most  of 
them  being  day  scholars.  Only  four  were  members  of 
the  school  family;  Luella  Hobson  and  Mary  Beaty,  of 
Chicago;  Marianne  Greenleaf,  of  Galesburg;  Ellen 
Seely,  daughter  of  our  housekeeper.  Besides  the  Rector, 
Principal,  and  House  Mother,  we  had  Miss  Osborne, 
teacher  of  music. 

It  was,  indeed,  a  small  beginning,  in  a  big,  big 
room,  nearly  a  hundred  feet  long  and  fourteen  feet 
high,  with  great  arched  windows  on  three  sides  of  it, 
and  with  only  some  desks  and  a  bare  platform  at  one 
end  to  break  the  monotony  of  it.  Later,  the  hall  was 
handsomely  decorated;  the  ceiling  was  paneled,  the 
walls  were  frescoed  and  hung  with  maps  and  paintings, 
and  on  the  platform  were  rugs,  chancel  and  school  fur- 
niture, and  a  fine  organ,  with  front  of  decorated  pipes 

14 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

reaching  almost  to  the  ceiling.  It  was  really  a  noble 
room. 

I  have  often  wondered  how  we  were  able  to  endure 
those  first  three  months,  with  inadequate  income,  de- 
pressing environment,  and  uncertainty  for  the  future. 
Perhaps  it  is  more  remarkable  that  our  few  students 
remained  contented  and  cheerful  and  made  a  fine 
record.  Indeed,  that  "day  of  small  things"  was  not  at 
all  discouraging.  Beginning  so  near  the  end  of  the 


EWING  UNIVERSITY  BUILDING 

In  which  St.  Mary's  School  was  conducted 

for  five  years,   1868-1873 


school  year,  with  little  advertising,  we  had  no  reason 
to  expect  many  students,  and  we  were  not  equipped  to 
take  care  of  many.  Above  all,  we  were  sustained  by  the 
faith  and  hope  which  had  attended  every  step  of  the 
enterprise.  We  thoroughly  believed  in  it,  and  worked 
for  our  small  school  as  faithfully  and  cheerfully  as  we 
ever  did  for  the  larger  school  of  a  later  day. 

To  do  the  best  possible  for  each  one  of  our  little 
flock,  we  had  almost  as  many  classes  as  pupils.  The 

15 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

primary  class  consisted  of  one  little  girl,  who  began 
with  A-B-C  under  Miss  Hitchcock  and  continued  with 
us  through  the  whole  course  to  graduation,  never  hav- 
ing attended  for  a  day  any  other  school.  Later,  the  same 
record  was  made,  of  course,  by  our  three  daughters, 
who  were  born  at  St.  Mary's. 

That  first  period  of  pioneer  work  was  really  the 
pleasantest  of  our  half  century  at  St.  Mary's.  At  least, 
it  so  seems  on  looking  back  to  it.  Perhaps  it  is  a  case 
where  "distance  lends  enchantment."  We  had  no  annoy- 
ance of  discipline,  no  overwork  and  worry,  no  discon- 
tent. After  school  hours,  sometimes  we  played  croquet, 
sometimes  explored  the  beautiful  forests  north  and 
south.  On  Sunday  we  attended  St.  John's  parish  church 
where,  for  many  years  after,  I  officiated,  supplying 
organist  and  choir  from  St.  Mary's,  and  helping  by  our 
offerings  to  pay  the  expenses  and  the  big  debt  on  the 
little  church. 

THE  end  of  that  first  quarter  was  our  time  to  "make 
a  show,"  and  we  made  the  most  of  it.  I  grieve  to 
recall  how  we  tormented  our  few  little  lambs  by  a 
public  examination.  Good  Dr.  Chase,  of  Jubilee  Col- 
lege, presided,  and  he  smiled  so  kindly  and  praised  so 
heartily  the  performance  of  the  frightened  victims,  that 
they  survived  the  tests  of  answering  questions  in  public, 
and  perhaps  forgave  us  for  subjecting  them  to  the 
ordeal. 

The  grand  finale  of  this  short  term  of  our  little 
school  was  an  entertainment  of  music  and  tableaux. 
Miss  Hitchcock  was  the  manager  of  the  spectacular 
features,  and  with  the  very  limited  material  at  hand, 
gave  a  fine  "exhibition."  The  good  people  of  Knoxville 
thronged  the  hall  and  heartily  applauded. 

16 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

The  evening  is  memorable  as  one  of  the  hottest  on 
record.  Never  were  wax-works  subjected  to  such  intense 
heat  without  melting!  The  performers  will  recall  with 
a  smile  the  placid  endurance  of  the  "Fat  Woman"  in 
her  multitudinous  wrappings,  and  the  Spartan-like 
spirit  of  the  "Wild  Boy  of  the  Woods,"  who,  rather 
than  not  be  ready  for  his  cue,  wore  the  buffalo  robe  all 
the  evening. 

FROM  the  interesting  performance  at  the  end  of 
that  first  term,  through  all  the  years,  musical  and 
dramatic  entertainments  have  been  frequent  and  popu- 
lar at  St.  Mary's ;  and  they  have  been  very  helpful,  serv- 
ing to  promote  culture  and  good  cheer,  and  to  give 
the  spice  of  variety  to  school  life.  Indeed,  they  have 
real  educational  value,  for  those  who  plan  and  perform 
as  well  as  for  those  who  are  entertained.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  school  girl's  fondness  for  social  and  dra- 
matic entertainments  may  not  be  diminished  by  increas- 
ing interest  in  athletics.  While  she  gains  in  mental  and 
physical  alertness,  by  field  sports  and  the  gymnasium, 
may  she  not  lose  or  lessen  her  commanding  influence  in 
home  and  social  life,  but  still  be  to  us  "a  phantom  of 
delight,"  ministering  to  the  joy  and  beauty  of  the  world. 
The  performance  of  that  hot  evening  in  June  was 
like  the  launching  of  the  ship:  and  happily  she  floated! 
Everybody  was  proud  and  pleased.  The  ship  was  a  mere 
hull,  unfinished  and  unfurnished,  needing  almost  every- 
thing to  make  it  fit  for  the  voyage.  But  we  had  made 
a  beginning.  "Thus  far  the  Lord  had  brought  us  on 
our  way." 

"Lead  Thou  me  on ! 
Keep  Thou  my  feet!   I  do  not  ask  to  see 
The  distant  scene;  one  step  enough  for  me." 

17 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

The  motto  which  good  Bishop  Chase  had  carved 
on  the  altar  of  his  Jubilee  College  chapel  should  be 
ours:  "Jehovah  Jireh!  The  Lord  will  provide." 

ONE  of  the  cherished  memories  of  this  period  of  St. 
Mary's  is  that  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Chase,  to 
whom  I  have  referred  above,  and  to  whom  we  were  fre- 
quently indebted  for  service  and  encouragement.  At  the 
time  of  his  first  visit  he  was  conducting  a  school  for  boys 
at  Jubilee  College,  near  Peoria,  a  charge  which  had 
been  assigned  to  him  by  his  uncle,  Bishop  Philander 
Chase.  As  Illinois  emerged  from  the  "Wilderness"  the 
college  at  Jubilee  was  submerged,  as  it  were,  in  its  al- 
most inaccessible  location,  and  the  little  school  con- 
ducted by  Dr.  Chase  was  all  that  remained  of  the  edu- 
cational work  at  Jubilee.  This  involved  a  considerable 
deficit,  from  year  to  year,  and  during  the  late  years  of 
the  episcopate  of  Bishop  Whitehouse,  the  school  was 
discontinued. 

By  the  successors  of  Bishop  Whitehouse,  earnest 
efforts  were  made  from  time  to  time,  to  revive  the  work 
at  Jubilee,  without  encouraging  results.  To  Dr.  Chase, 
of  course,  the  closing  of  the  school  was  a  great  dis- 
appointment, and  I  am  happy  to  believe  that  he  was 
somewhat  comforted  in  his  sadness  by  occasional  par- 
ticipation in  the  growing  work  at  Knoxville.  He  was 
ever  a  welcome  visitor,  a  kindly  man,  a  gentleman  and 
scholar,  worthy  of  the  relation  he  had  sustained  to  the 
work  of  the  first  Bishop  of  Illinois. 

OUR  little  hour  of  elation  at  the  close  of  that  first 
term  was  followed  by  a  period  of  great  anxiety; 
how  should  we  provide  equipment  for  the  growth  of 
the  School?  We  were  quite  sure  of  increased  attendance, 

18 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

and  everything  was  encouraging  except  the  financial 
situation.  So  far,  our  receipts  from  school  charges  had 
been  very  small,  not  sufficient  to  pay  current  expenses 
during  the  ten  weeks  of  that  first  term.  No  contribu- 
tions had  been  received  or  solicited,  and  we  had  no 
guarantee  of  salary  or  support,  except  the  five-year 
lease,  which  allowed  us  to  make  or  lose,  to  sink  or  swim! 
We  could  not  mortgage  the  property  to  raise  money,  as 
we  held  it  only  under  a  lease. 

Possibly  I  might  borrow  on  my  personal  note.  I 
remembered  that  a  Churchman  in  Chicago,  who  had 
encouraged  me  to  go  to  Knoxville,  had  remarked  that 
he  might  give  something  to  aid  the  enterprise,  so  I  went 
to  Chicago,  only  to  ascertain  that  this  good  man  had 
quite  forgotten  his  intention  to  help  me,  and  was  not  in 
a  condition  (or  disposition?)  to  do  or  to  promise  any- 
thing. 

Returning  to  Knoxville,  I  was  obliged  to  report 
that  I  could  not  secure,  as  I  had  hoped,  any  assistance 
from  Chicago,  for  the  growing  necessities  of  the  School, 
and  should  have  to  do  the  best  I  could  with  what  I  had 
in  hand;  to  which  the  president  of  the  bank  replied: 

"But  why  do  you  go  so  far  from  home  to  borrow 
money?" 

I  explained  that  I  had  no  more  collateral  to  offer, 
and  that  I  was  better  known  in  Chicago  than  in  Knox- 
ville, where  I  had  resided  only  for  a  short  time. 

"How  much  money  do  you  need  to  carry  you 
through?" 

I  told  him  I  thought  $2,500  would  be  enough;  pos- 
sibly I  could  make  it  a  little  less. 

"John,"  he  said,  calling  to  Mr.  Babbington,  the 
cashier,  "make  out  a  note  for  Mr.  Leffingwell  for 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars." 

19 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

"But,  Mr.  Runkle,"  I  said,  "I  have  nothing  to  offer 
as  security,  and  I  know  of  no  one  in  this  town  who  would 
be  willing  to  sign  the  note  with  me." 

"Oh,  yes,"  he  said,  "I  will  sign  the  note  with  you. 
That  is  all  right." 

THIS  was  the  beginning  of  a  long  course  of  cour- 
teous treatment  which  Mr.  Runkle  and  the  bank 
extended  to  me,  through  the  half  century  of  my  admin- 
istration. A  few  years  after,  I  became  a  director  in  the 
bank,  and  my  relations  with  that  institution  were  very 
gratifying  and  helpful.  My  helpfulness  to  the  bank,  I 
think,  was  mostly  by  way  of  borrowing  money  from  it! 
Cornelius  Runkle  should  be  written  down  with 
Abou  Ben  Adhem  as  "one  who  loved  his  fellow  men." 
Both  in  appearance  and  temperament  he  resembled 
Abraham  Lincoln.  He  was  a  man  of  few  words  and 
many  good  deeds.  He  had  no  family,  and  seemed  to 
care  little  for  what  most  of  us  consider  "the  comforts  of 
life."  He  lived  in  the  old  bank,  sleeping  in  a  little  room 
there  and  taking  his  meals  at  the  Hebard  House.  When 
I  urged  him  to  be  more  liberal  towards  himself  while 
he  was  doing  so  much  for  others,  he  smiled  away  my 
good  advice,  with  the  assurance  that  he  was  quite  com- 
fortable and  contented  with  the  routine  of  his  simple 
life.  During  our  acquaintance  of  over  thirty  years,  I 
never  knew  of  his  going  outside  of  Knox  County  or 
spending  a  dollar  for  recreation,  while  he  was  spending 
and  lending  freely  to  help  others. 

In  his  philosophy  of  life,  character  and  conduct 
were  entirely  the  products  of  heredity  and  environment, 
and  he  seemed  to  hold  this  doctrine  almost  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  man's  responsibility.  After  the  robbery  of 
the  old  bank,  he  objected  to  the  pursuit  and  punishment 

20 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 

of  the  band,  though  they  had  tortured  him  to  get  the 
combination  of  the  big  safe.  "You  and  I,"  he  said, 
"would  be  just  as  bad,  if  we  had  been  brought  up  as 
they  were.  And  after  all,  they  were  not  so  very  bad,  for 
they  rubbed  oil  on  my  feet  after  they  had  burned  them !" 
The  thieves  got  a  few  hundred  dollars  from  a  small 
safe,  "But  they  didn't  get  the  pile!"  said  Mr.  Runkle. 

IN  those  days,  the  School  year  comprised  forty  weeks, 
broken  only  by  two  weeks  of  Christmas  holidays, 
and  a  week  in  the  spring.  This  gave  us  a  summer  vaca- 
tion of  nine  weeks.  I'm  not  sure  that  the  shortening  of 
the  school  year  almost  a  month,  which  came  about  later 
in  nearly  all  the  schools  of  the  country,  was  altogether 
"a  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished."  On  the  part 
of  the  schools  it  was  not  so  much  of  choice  as  of  neces- 
sity. More  and  more,  school  patrons  were  lengthening 
their  summer  vacations,  withdrawing  students  before 
the  close  of  the  school  year,  and  returning  them  tardily 
after  the  reopening.  Of  course  it  was  not  difficult  to 
reconcile  both  teachers  and  pupils  to  the  shorter  term. 

Of  the  sixty  pupils  in  attendance  during  this  first 
full  year,  only  fifteen  were  resident.  The  large  number 
of  day  scholars,  though  not  a  source  of  much  revenue 
(the  full  charge  for  tuition  being  only  $40  a  year)  was 
a  great  help  in  organizing  classes,  adding  to  the  inter- 
est and  variety  of  work  and  play,  and  filling  the  big, 
barren  study  hall  with  young  life  and  eager  activity. 
This  large  patronage  from  Knoxville  was  not  continued 
in  later  years  (and  was  not  so  much  needed)  since  the 
public  schools  were  greatly  improved. 

The  charge  for  resident  students,  $360  for  the  year 
of  forty  weeks,  seems  absurdly  small  in  these  days  of 
thousand  dollar  boarding  schools ;  and  it  was  really  too 

21 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST,  MARTS 

small,  even  in  those  days,  to  furnish  a  living  wage  to 
those  engaged  in  it.  But  for  the  Middle  West  it  seemed 
"all  the  traffic  would  bear."  Some  thought  the  rate 
would  be  prohibitive,  as  St  Mary's  would  be  in  com- 
petition with  seminaries  in  which  the  charge  was  con- 
siderably less.  In  these  institutions  the  scholastic  train- 
ing, as  a  rule,  was  excellent,  but  at  St.  Mary's  there  was 
more  than  teaching;  Christian  nurture,  personal  care, 
social  culture,  character-forming  influences,  paternal 
discipline,  wise  ordering  of  habit.  For  these,  parents 
were  willing  to  pay. 

For  many  years  the  charge  for  board  and  "tuition 
in  all  studies  of  the  course"  did  not  exceed  $400  a  year. 
During  the  later  years  of  my  administration,  when  the 
cost  of  living  had  greatly  advanced  everywhere,  the 
charge  at  St.  Mary's  was  $600  a  year.  This  included 
training  in  domestic  science  as  well  as  ordinary  school 
work. 

It  seems  almost  incredible  that  we  could  "carry  on" 
even  with  a  full  school,  at  the  lower  rate.  But  the  condi- 
tions were  most  favorable  for  economical  administra- 
tion. Wages  and  supplies,  especially  in  rural  districts, 
were  less  than  one-half  the  present  cost.  The  day 
laborer,  all  over  the  country,  received  only  $1.50  for  a 
ten-hour  day.  We  paid  for  butter,  eggs,  poultry,  and 
other  farm  and  garden  produce  one-fourth  the  price  we 
pay  today.  Coal,  in  that  part  of  Illinois,  was  about  $2.50 
a  ton;  wood,  $4.00  a  cord;  meat,  a  shilling  a  pound; 
ordinary  domestic  service,  $16.00  a  month.  Our  hun- 
dred pounds  of  turkey  for  a  dinner  cost  only  $12.50. 

Only  a  half  dozen  years  before  the  opening  of  St. 
Mary's,  during  the  Civil  War,  farm  and  garden  pro- 
duce in  the  Middle  West  scarcely  paid  for  hauling  to 
market.  When  roads  were  bad,  corn  was  sometimes  used 

22 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

for  fuel.  Coal  was  five  or  six  cents  a  bushel  at  the  freight 
station.  By  burning  the  corn  at  home,  the  long  haul  by 
wagon  through  Illinois  mud  was  saved  on  both  corn 
and  coal.  I  remember  a  friend  of  mine  who  drove 
twelve  miles  to  Galesburg  with  a  bushel  of  eggs  (a 
gross,  packed  in  oats)  and  brought  back  a  pound  of 
coffee  as  the  proceeds  of  the  sale!  The  eggs  were  four 
cents  a  dozen;  the  coffee  was  priced  at  sixty  cents,  in 
our  depreciated  currency,  (this  during  the  Civil  War) 
or  thirty  cents  in  foreign  exchange.  A  dozen  eggs  for 
two  cents  and  a  half.  But  with  feed  costing  nothing  the 
hens  kept  on  laying,  and  the  farmer's  wife  mixed 
parched  grain  with  the  coffee,  "to  make  it  go  farther." 


23 


CHAPTER  III 

,F  YOU  will  dig  down  and  uncover  the  foun- 
dations of  a  school,  you  will  find  that  some  of 
the  "living  stones"  there  are  from  the  student 
body;  and  throughout  the  building,  in  every 
"bonding  course"  by  which  the  walls  are  strengthened, 
the  student  body  is  represented.  Every  school  manager 
will  tell  you  that  the  character,  reputation,  and  stability 
of  an  institution  depend  largely  upon  the  quality  of  the 
students.  In  this  respect  St.  Mary's  was  fortunate,  and 
from  the  beginning  has  been  blessed.  As  a  rule,  her  stu- 
dents have  come  from  the  best  families  of  the  Middle 
West;  girls  who  were  respected  at  home,  and  ambitious 
to  qualify  for  positions  of  honor  and  influence. 

At  the  reopening  in  September,  1868,  even  with  a 
very  small  number  of  advanced  pupils,  we  were  for- 
tunate in  finding  three  who  were  well  prepared  for  the 
middle  class  of  our  three-year  graduation  course.  The 
three  who  constituted  this  upper  class,  Clara  Wilson, 
Jennie  Hunter,  and  Ada  Runkle,  were  young  women  of 
mature  character,  strong  purpose,  and  high  ideals. 
They  should  have  honorable  mention,  as  among  the 
"living  stones"  of  the  foundation  upon  which  St. 
Mary's  was  builded. 

Miss  Wilson,  valedictorian  of  this  class,  went  from 
St.  Mary's  to  Vassar  College,  graduating  there  in  two 
years  with  a  fine  record.  She  married  George  W.  Kret- 

24 


Edward  H.  Rudd 


Anna  Francis  Rudd 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

zinger,  prominent  railroad  attorney  of  Chicago. 
Through  all  these  years  she  has  been  loyal  and  active  in 
the  interests  of  the  school  of  which  she  is  a  trustee :  she 
is  also  president  of  the  Associate  Alumnae.  Some  charm- 
ing products  of  her  pen  will  be  found  among  the  se- 
lections in  this  volume. 

Our  foundations  were  strengthened  and  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  school  was  increased  by  the  coming  of 
Anna  Francis,  my  wife's  sister,  who  had  been  in  charge 
of  my  little  academy  at  Nashotah.  She  had  remained 
there  to  complete  the  school  year,  and  so  had  missed 
being  counted  with  Miss  Hitchcock  as  one  of  the  real 
founders. 

Miss  Francis  was  a  "born  teacher";  alert,  ener- 
getic, and  versatile.  As  instructor  and  choir  leader  for 
nearly  forty  years,  she  gave  devoted  and  valuable  ser- 
vice to  St.  Mary's.  She  married  the  Rev.  Edward  H. 
Rudd,  and  for  a  brief  period  had  experience  of  parish 
life,  but  soon  returned  to  her  old  school  work  and  home, 
bringing  her  husband  with  her.  Mr.  Rudd  (later,  Dr. 
Rudd),  Chaplain  and  Instructor  in  Science,  was  soon 
known  and  valued  for  his  own  sake,  and  not  as  the  hus- 
band of  his  wife.  The  frequent  occurrence  of  his  name 
in  reports  of  our  school  life  and  work  is  an  indication 
of  his  helpfulness  and  popularity.  Their  child  Harold, 
growing  up  with  our  little  ones,  was  a  competitor  with 
them  for  the  favor  of  the  girls.  Each  baby  had  a  "wait- 
ing list." 

OBSERVERS  of  child  life  have  claimed  that 
growth  of  intellect  and  personality  is  greater  in 
early  than  in  later  years.  It  may  be  true  also  of  the  child- 
hood of  institutions.  It  seems  to  be  true,  in  the  case  of 
our  St.  Mary's.  That  first  year  was  remarkable  as  a 

25 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

formative  period.  The  routine  of  duty  and  recreation, 
the  customs,  order,  and  discipline,  the  standards  and 
ideals  that  prevailed  in  that  year,  continued  almost  un- 
changed for  half  a  century,  and  presumably  continue 
to  this  day.  Of  course  as  numbers  increased  even  beyond 
the  "limit"  of  a  hundred,  there  could  not  be  the  same 
intimate  relation  of  students,  officers,  and  teachers,  as 
in  the  days  when  all  knelt  together  in  the  library  for 
family  prayers.  But  the  School  never  entirely  outgrew 
the  home ;  the  family  never  was  merged  in  the  institu- 
tion ;  love  was  not  submerged  by  law. 

"  What  makes  the  lamb  love  Mary  so  V 

The  eager  children  cry. 
'Why,  Mary  loves  the  lamb,  you  know,' 

The  teacher  did  reply." 

My  first  condition  in  the  engagement  of  officers 
and  teachers  was  that  they  should  all  share  in  the  family 
and  social  life  of  the  School,  be  interested  in  the  stu- 
dents, in  their  recreations  as  well  as  in  their  work,  and 
seek  to  secure  their  confidence  and  affection.  Teachers 
and  students  lived  together,  worked  and  played  to- 
gether, in  the  most  kindly  and  intimate  relation.  Doubt- 
less this  family  spirit  was  more  easily  cultivated  in  those 
days,  when  teachers  generally  did  not  regard  school 
duty  as  exclusively  professional  and  official.  The  policy 
of  St.  Mary's  School  from  first  to  last,  under  my  ad- 
ministration, was  to  have  officers  and  teachers  all  in- 
terested in  the  domestic,  social,  and  spiritual  life  of  the 
institution.  This  ideal,  I  think,  was  fairly  realized,  and 
we  were  happy  to  have  it  so. 

THE  most  notable  event  of  the  reopening  was  the 
visit  of  the  Bishop  of  Illinois.  He  had  not  returned 
from  Europe  when  our  little  company  assembled  in 

26 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

April,  and  this  was  his  first  sight  of  St.  Mary's.  He  was 
surprised  and  gratified  to  find  a  diocesan  school,  almost 
full  grown,  waiting  to  welcome  him  out  there  on  the 
prairie!  He  seemed  to  take  the  School  at  once  to  his 
heart,  winning  all  by  his  gracious  manner  and  kindly 
words.  It  was  a  great  privilege  for  our  little  School  to 
be  visited  and  addressed  by  Bishop  Whitehouse,  a 
privilege  and  honor  frequently  enjoyed  in  the  years 
following.  With  the  work  of  a  great  diocese,  his  large 
correspondence  all  written  by  his  own  hand,  he 
journeyed  often  and  far  to  visit  us.  He  said  that  it 
rested  him  to  spend  a  day  at  St.  Mary's. 

The  Bishop  was  with  us  again  to  preside  at  the  cele- 
bration of  our  First  Anniversary,  in  Easter  week.  The 
following  account  of  the  day  appeared  in  the  Ameri- 
can Churchman,  of  which  Dr.  Hugh  Miller  Thompson 
was  then  editor : 

"St.  Mary's  School,  at  Knoxville,  Illinois,  celebrated  its  first 
anniversary  on  Easter  Tuesday.  The  morning  was  bright  and  beauti- 
ful. At  the  usual  hour  of  service,  the  School  entered  St.  John's 
Church,  singing,  as  a  processional,  The  Strain  Upraise.  The  services 
were  choral,  and  the  voices  of  the  sixty  young  girls  rang  out  clearly 
and  sweetly  in  chant  and  response.  The  Bishop's  address  was  most 
appropriate.  With  a  delicate  appreciation  of  the  home  feeling  that 
characterizes  the  School,  he  began  by  calling  the  anniversary  'Baby's 
Birthday,'  drawing  a  charming  comparison  between  the  winsome 
ways  of  the  darling  of  a  household,  and  the  love,  the  hopes,  and  the 
promise  that  cluster  around  St.  Mary's.  The  service  over,  the  School 
left  the  church  singing  Jerusalem  the  Golden. 

"The  rest  of  the  day  was  kept  as  a  high  holiday.  One  pleasing 
feature  was  the  presentation  of  a  birthday  cake  by  the  young  ladies. 
It  is  a  custom,  at  St.  Mary's,  and  one  which  marks  the  home-like 
character  of  the  School,  to  commemorate  the  birthday  of  each  pupil 
by  presenting  a  cake  to  the  heroine  of  the  day ;  and  it  occurred  to  the 
young  ladies  that  the  fitness  of  things  required  that  St.  Mary's  too, 
should  have  a  cake.  One  was  accordingly  procured,  and  after  supper 

27 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

it  was  carried  into  the  parlor  by  the  youngest,  followed  by  an  im- 
promptu procession  of  the  donors,  all  eager  to  tell  that  it  was  for 
'Baby's  Birthday.'  The  cake  was  gaily  decked  with  tiny  gilt  flags  and 
streamers  of  bright  ribbons,  and  surmounted  by  a  solitary  pink  taper !" 

During  Whitsuntide  the  Bishop  confirmed  four  stu- 
dents in  our  little  parish  church,  where  our  Sunday  and 
special  services  were  held.  The  first  full  year  closed 
with  literary  exercises,  on  June  18,  1869. 

OF  course  there  was  a  considerable  deficit  at  the 
end  of  the  first  year.  The  second  summer  vacation, 
(1869)  found  us  in  worse  condition,  financially, 
than  before.  We  had  gained  in  experience  and  reputa- 
tion, and  the  outlook  for  the  future  was  encouraging, 
but  bills  were  pressing  for  payment,  and  our  need  of 
increased  equipment  for  school  and  household  was 
greater  than  ever. 

We  had  need  also  of  increased  physical  equipment; 
our  vitality  was  at  low  ebb.  The  long  strain  of  over- 
work and  anxiety  had  brought  us  almost  to  the  break- 
ing point  of  health  and  hope.  Inadequate  income  had 
compelled  us  to  limit  expenditure  for  service  in  every 
department,  and  we  had  to  do  work  ourselves  which 
we  could  not  afford  to  get  done  by  others.  I  was 
preacher,  teacher,  business  manager,  bookkeeper,  sec- 
retary, steward,  optimist!  My  uncomplaining  wife 
shared  in  almost  all  the  executive  work  of  the  house 
and  the  school.  With  the  added  burden  of  a  baby  in 
arms,  she  could  no  longer  conceal  from  me  the  wear  of 
her  too  strenuous  life. 

We  decided  that  we  must  have  a  vacation.  "And 
thereby  hangs  a  tale!  Let's  ha'  it!" 

"Elizabeth,"  I  said,  a  day  or  two  after  the  exhaust- 
ing work  of  the  closing  exercises,  "we  must  have  a  rest; 
we  will  take  a  vacation." 

28 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

"That  would  be  fine!"  she  replied;  "but  how  can  we 
afford  it?  We  can  rest  here.  We  shall  be  very  comfort- 
able and  can  take  things  easy,  after  we  get  the  cleaning 
done  and  the  rooms  in  order." 

"No!  Lay  not  that  flattering  unction  to  your  soul, 
my  dear.  We  are  going  to  get  out  of  sight  and  sound  of 
St.  Mary's  School,  Knoxville,  Illinois,  and  stay  at  least 
a  month,  even  if  the  School  never  opens  again." 

"If  we  go  away  I'm  afraid  we  shall  have  to  stay 
away,  for  we  shall  not  have  money  enough  to  get  back." 

NEVERTHELESS,  I  went  on  to  make  plans  for 
the  outing.  I  had  a  little  reserve  fund  of  several 
hundred  dollars,  made  up  I  scarcely  know  how,  and 
carefully  hoarded  for  emergencies.  This  secret  being 
revealed  to  my  wondering  wife,  we  joyfully  began  to 
arrange  the  details  of  our  great  adventure.  We  would 
go  to  Saratoga  Springs  (not  to  the  big  hotel,  of  course) , 
and  to  Poughkeepsie,  our  former  school  home,  and  to 
grandfather's  old  farm  in  the  Berkshire  Hills,  etc.  We 
had  the  trunks  brought  out  and  the  day  of  our  departure 
appointed.  Then  we  faced  the  embarrassing  duty  of 
negotiating  with  our  local  creditors. 

I  had  no  doubt  that  most  of  them  would  be  willing 
to  wait  for  payment  until  the  reopening  of  School  in 
September.  But  in  this  I  was  mistaken.  I  found  that 
nearly  every  one  wanted  his  money  and  had  to  have  it. 
They  were  quite  right  in  demanding  it.  They  had  their 
owta  bills  to  pay,  and,  as  a  rule,  had  no  reserve  funds. 

One  exception  to  the  general  negation  of  my  request 
for  extension  deserves  to  be  noted.  I  have  remembered 
it  gratefully  for  over  fifty  years.  Mr.  J.  S.  Brewer,  the 
druggist,  who  had  furnished  a  large  amount  of  paints 
and  oils  for  repairs  on  the  old  building,  and  so  far  had 

29 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

not  received  a  dollar  from  me,  cordially  granted  me 
"all  the  time  you  need."  A  favor  almost  as  great  had 
been  extended  by  G.  Schirmer  Co.,  of  New  York,  on 
account  of  music  publications  supplied  for  the  whole 
year. 

At  the  close  of  that  hot  day  in  July,  "with  re- 
luctant feet"  I  returned  to  the  big  building  on  the  tree- 
less prairie,  to  share  with  my  wife  news  of  my  failure. 

"It  might  be  worse,"  she  said. 

There  was  not  much  encouragement  in  that,  but  it 
set  me  to  thinking:  "Why  art  thou  so  full  of  heaviness, 
O  my  soul,  and  why  art  thou  so  disquieted  within  me? 
Put  thy  trust  in  God."  Surely,  it  might  be  worse;  I  had 
not  thought  of  that.  Doubtless  it  would  be  worse  if  we 
lost  faith  and  courage.  "Put  thy  trust  in  God!" 

I  say,  it  set  me  to  thinking  howr  we  had  been  guided 
and  provided  for,  how  the  Lord  had  been  our  helper 
and  had  "delivered  us  out  of  our  distress."  The  work 
that  had  been  begun  in  faith,  by  faith  should  go  on, 
though  we  had  to  "remove  mountains."  But  we  were 
very  tired  and  must  get  away,  for  a  time. 

So  I  said,  "We  will  start  tomorrow.  We  have  a  few 
dollars  left.  (It  might  be  worse,  indeed!)  We  can  go 
somewhere,  anywhere;  perhaps  to  Chicago,  where  we 
should  get  a  change  of  scene  and  a  breath  of  lake  air." 

So  we  bought  return  tickets  and  took  the  train  for 
Chicago. 

Having  an  hour  or  two  to  wait  in  Galesburg,  to 
change  cars,  I  said  to  my  wife  that  I  would  go  up  town 
for  a  little  walk,  while  she  rested  in  the  station.  I  had 
been  thinking  of  a  prominent  business  man  in  Gales- 
burg, a  Churchman  whose  daughter  was  at  St.  Mary's, 
and  to  his  office  I  timorously  made  my  way. 

"Mr.  Phillips,"  I  said,  without  wasting  time  to  dis- 

30 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

cuss  the  weather,  "I  want  to  borrow  a  hundred  dollars 
on  my  note,  say  for  three  months.  I  will  repay  it  a 
month  after  the  reopening  of  School  in  September." 

Did  he  make  the  note?  He  did!  and  I  paid  the  note 
before  it  was  due. 

His  daughter  Jennie  was  long  numbered  among  our 
"dearest  and  best,"  and  later  Mr.  W.  N.  Phillips  was 
an  honored  member  of  our  board  of  trustees. 

On  our  vacation  way  we  went  rejoicing,  and  carried 
out  the  programme  as  we  had  planned.  At  the  ancestral 
home  in  Massachusetts  we  had,  for  the  time,  four  gen- 
erations under  one  roof;  grandfather,  son,  grandson, 
and  his  infant  daughter. 

We  returned  to  Knoxville  in  good  health  and  good 
time  to  prepare  for  the  reopening. 

Indeed,  "It  might  be  worse!" 

PERHAPS  this  account  of  the  pioneer  days  may  not 
be  altogether  to  my  credit;  it  may  seem  that  the 
hardships  were  mostly  the  result  of  improvidence  and 
overconfidence  on  my  part;  or  that  I  magnify  the  diffi- 
culties in  order  to  gain  credit  for  overcoming  them. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  and  aside  from  all  personal  considera- 
tions, the  true  Story  of  St.  Mary's  must  tell  of  trials  as 
well  as  achievements.  Of  the  former,  I  may  claim  to 
have  had  my  share;  for  the  latter,  I  thank  God,  by 
whose  kind  Providence  each  crisis  was  wonderfully 
provided  for.  To  Him  be  praise  that  our  discourage- 
ments did  not  end  in  defeat.  * 

Institutions  do  not  "just  grow."  The  stones  of  our 
temples  are  cemented  with  sweat  and  blood.  We  ad- 


*  It  should  not  be  inferred  that  I  had  undertaken  this  work  without  any  financial 
resources.  My  wife  generously  devoted  to  it  her  inheritance,  but  the  deficits  and  diffi- 
culties were  greater  than  we  had  reason  to  expect. 

31 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

mire  the  completed  structure,  proportioned  and  perfect 
from  foundation  to  finial,  and  think  not  of  the  travail 
by  which  it  has  been  wrought.  Reading  between  the 
lines  of  its  sculptural  stones,  we  begin  to  realize  some- 
thing of  the  hardships  and  dangers  attending  its  pro- 
duction. 

The  good  things  that  make  life  worth  living,  our 
homes,  schools,  civilization,  religion,  have  been  founded 
on  sacrifice. 

LOOKING  back  now  over  half  a  century,  the  pass- 
/  ing  from  that  first  year  to  the  second  seems  like 
crossing  the  line  between  two  periods.  The  first  period 
is  distinct  in  memory,  even  to  many  unimportant  de- 
tails. I  have,  as  it  were,  a  moving  picture  of  it  in  mind. 
Crossing  the  line,  the  scene  is  distant  and  dim.  Fortu- 
nately, by  the  aid  of  correspondence  and  photographs, 
and  from  the  files  of  the  school  magazine,  I  may  be  able 
to  recall  some  interesting  phases  of  the  school  life  of 
fifty  years  ago. 

The  scenes  and  events  of  the  first  year  and  the  pre- 
ceding term  are  more  readily  recalled,  I  presume,  be- 
cause the  work  was  new,  with  less  detail  and  complica- 
tion than  that  which  followed;  my  concentration  upon 
it  was  more  intense,  my  interest  and  anxiety  were  more 
profound,  than  at  any  other  period.  In  those  few  months 
I  lived  as  many  years. 

The  beginning  of  the  second  school  year,  September 
8,  1869,  found  us  with  increased  number  of  resident 
students,  and  with  increased  hope  and  confidence.  The 
first  notable  event  was  the  arrival  of  number  Thirty- 
Five,  and  the  School  was  full!  This  occurred  on  the 
fifteenth  of  October,  and  was  the  occasion  of  great  re- 
joicing, celebrated  by  a  grand  frolic  in  the  evening.  The 

32 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

student  who  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  "capping  the 
climax"  was  Miss  Howard  Lombard,  from  a  town  in 
Illinois  that  bears  the  name  of  the  family  which  she 
worthily  represented. 

The  first  Baccalaureate  Sermon  was  preached  by 
the  Rector,  on  Trinity  Sunday,  from  the  text,  "Blessed 
are  the  Pure  in  Heart,  for  They  shall  See  God,"  the 
class  and  school  motto. 

Of  the  First  Graduates'  Day,  June  16,  1870,  the  fol- 
lowing account  was  given  in  a  letter  written  to  the 
American  Churchman  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Corbett  of 
Quincy,  Illinois : 

"At  half  past  ten  o'clock,  the  procession,  singing  the  Trinity- 
Hymn,  marched  into  the  hall  where  the  exercises  were  to  take  place. 
After  the  solemn  religious  services,  in  which  all  participated,  the 
band  played  some  inspiring  music.  Next,  a  quartette  of  scholars  sang 
the  Greeting  Song,  which  was  followed  by  an  essay  on  Fact,  by  Miss 
Hunter.  This  essay  evidenced  that  the  writer  had  not  only  read,  but 
had  likewise  marked,  learned,  and  inwardly  digested  her  readings. 
She  rendered  her  essay  in  a  manner  that  commanded  attention,  whilst 
the  treatment  of  her  theme  convinced  the  assembly  that  'facts  are 
stubborn  things.'  After  another  instalment  of  music,  Miss  Runkle, 
of  Knoxville,  read  her  essay  on  Fancy,  which  was  very  fanciful, 
and  was  universally  liked.  At  last  came  an  essay,  by  Miss  Wilson, 
of  Rock  Island,  with  the  valedictory.  The  subject  of  the  essay  was 
Laughter  and  Tears.  The  writer  proved  that  life  is  made  up  of 
the  twain.  Her  parting  address  was  beautiful  and  sad.  Her  farewell 
to  her  Rector  and  classmates  was  very  affecting,  and  so,  indeed,  was 
every  part  of  the  address.  The  whole  of  it  seemed  flavored  with  the 
sincerest  gratitude. 

"Next  came  a  scene  that  should  have  been  photographed!  The 
three  graduates  kneeling  on  the  steps  of  the  dais,  before  the  Rector, 
who  hung  around  each  neck  the  golden  Cross  of  Honor,  badge  of  St. 
Mary's  School;  and  as,  in  closing,  he  laid  his  hand  upon  the  head  of 
each,  adopting  the  motto  of  the  School,  said,  Blessed  are  the  pure  in 
heart,  the  effect  was  electrical;  when  he  at  last  stood,  and,  with 
uplifted  hands  and  tremulous  voice,  blessed  them,  and  prayed  God 

33 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

evermore  to  have  them  in  His  care  and  keeping,  then  'all  the  people 
said  Amen'." 

The  graduating  exercises  over,  the  clergy  and  other 
guests  dined  with  us;  after  dinner  toasts  were  proposed, 
which  elicited  short  speeches  from  each.  The  toast, 
"Our  Absent  Bishop",  was  responded  to  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Chase,  in  a  most  feeling  and  appropriate  manner. 

This  happy  ending  of  the  second  year  I  recall  as 
one  of  the  brightest  and  best  days  in  the  early  history 
of  St.  Mary's  School. 

"Sweet  day,  so  calm,  so  cool,  so  bright, 
The  bridal  of  the  earth  and  sky." 

On  the  verdant  lawn  without,  the  roses  were  abloom, 
while  the  great  Study  Hall  within,  more  beautiful  to 
our  sight  than  the  June  landscape,  was  the  "rosebud 
garden  of  girls,"  bright  with  gay  costumes  and  ex- 
pectant smiles.  Standing  room  was  the  limit  of  the  large 
and  sympathetic  audience.  No  wonder  that  the  anxious 
hearts  that  had  waited  long  for  such  a  day,  for  such 
fruition  of  hope  deferred,  were  full  of  thankful  joy! 

The  order  of  this  first  Graduates'  Day  was  followed 
in  the  graduation  of  every  Class  during  the  half  cen- 
tury, even  to  the  design  of  the  Cross  of  Honor,  which 
I  drew  with  my  own  hand. 

This  chapter,  which  closes  the  story  of  the  first 
period  of  the  School,  shall  have  for  its  peroration  the 
Valedictory  of  the  first  Class. 


34 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

THE  VALEDICTORY  OF  1870 

By  Clara  J.  Wilson,  of  Rock  Island,  Illinois 

To  the  Right  Reverend,  the  Bishop  of  Illinois,  and  Visitor  of  St. 
Mary's  School: 

IT  is  impossible  for  a  school-girl  to  forget  her  youth  and  small 
attainments,  in  the  presence  of  the  wisdom  and  culture  of  the 
venerable  Bishop,  whom  not  her  presumption,  but  her  office,  calls  her 
to  address.  You,  Right  Reverend  Father,  have  listened  many  times, 
no  doubt,  to  the  quickly  forgotten  valedictory  of  a  maiden;  dare  she 
remember  how  often  to  the  voice  of  unforgotten  statesmen  and  illus- 
trious prelates?  Yet,  she  has  been  taught  that  true  learning  is  more 
tolerant  of  inferiors  than  pretentious  ignorance ;  and,  with  this  assur- 
ance, begins  her  "Farewell." 

To  its  Bishop  a  Church  School  must  look  for  its  most  powerful 
aid  abroad;  in  his  presence  must  seek  its  encouragement  and  highest 
reward  at  home.  Not  in  vain  has  St.  Mary's  looked  to  you  for  support, 
and  for  the  kindly  words  which  fall  with  such  weight  from  great 
men.  Not  in  vain  has  she  awaited  your  coming  with  expectant  gladness. 
Among  her  dearest  treasures,  her  children  count  the  memory  of  those 
days  when  the  benediction  of  your  smile  rested  on  them,  when  they 
listened  to  your  words  of  comfort,  when  they  beheld  your  hands  in 
blessing  on  the  heads  of  classmates  and  sisters. 

To  its  Bishop  the  infant  school,  the  "Baby,"  for  she  loves  to  be 
called  by  the  pet  name  he  bestowed  upon  her,  looks  up  with  the  love 
of  a  child,  and  for  him  she  offers  the  prayer  that  his  life  may  be  as 
high  as  his  calling,  his  heart  as  pure  as  his  office,  his  crown  more 
shining  than  his  mitre,  and  radiant  with  the  stars  of  rescued  souls. 
Not  least  sincere  in  this  prayer  are  we  of  the  Class  of  '70,  who  now 
must  say  "Farewell." 

To  the  Rector  of  St.  Mary's: 

In  Heaven,  we  know,  we  have  a  Friend  above  all  others,  one 
Leader,  one  Shepherd,  one  true  and  loving  Guide.  But  we  could  not 
realize  it  so  well  had  we  no  true  friends  on  earth,  by  whose  wise  and 
kindly  care  we,  reposing  with  such  confidence  on  the  shadow,  might 
be  taught  true  faith  in  the  heavenly  substance.  Our  pastor,  friend, 
and  guide,  what  shall  we  say  to  you,  today?  How  may  a  school-girl, 
unskilled  in  the  art  of  expression,  convey  to  you  the  united  love  and 

35 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

reverence  of  her  companions?  That  is  but  shallow  feeling  that 
can  be  told  in  words,  but  is  it  not  clearly  written  in  that  shade  of 
regret  which  not  all  the  glad  anticipations  of  home  delights  can  chase 
from  our  brows  ?  In  the  chancel,  in  the  busy  school-room,  in  the  quiet 
home-circle  (for  St.  Mary's  has,  indeed,  been  to  us  a  Home),  you 
have  ever  been  the  faithful  pastor,  the  delightful  teacher,  the  beloved 
father.  Words  of  eloquent  warning,  of  wise  and  witty  instruction,  of 
cheerful  encouragement,  daily  have  they  fallen  from  your  lips;  fear 
not  that  it  was  to  be  lost  on  stony  ground.  Many  a  wild  and  thought- 
less girl  will,  from  the  future  of  a  noble  womanhood,  look  back 
with  thankful  tears  to  those  reproofs,  never  given  in  anger,  but  with 
such  tender  compassion  for  error,  such  understanding  sympathy  for 
youthful  feelings,  as  could  hardly  fail  to  soften.  Few  are  the  teachers 
who  have  not  forgotten  their  own  sensibilities  in  younger  days,  and 
who  combine  with  the  clear  head  and  strong  will  of  a  man,  a  woman's 
delicate  tact  and  sympathy. 

Yet,  tender  as  a  father's  care  may  be,  still  there  must  rise  in  every 
young  heart  a  secret  longing  for  something  which  may  represent  a 
mother's  presence.  Twice  grateful,  therefore,  are  St.  Mary's  pupils, 
they  who  have  found  in  your  noble  wife,  our  dear  Mrs.  Leffingwell, 
a  loving  and  gentle  mother. 

Over  the  two  years  spent  in  St.  Mary's  walls,  the  trio  now  before 
you  look  with  mingled  pain  and  pleasure;  pleasure  in  a  host  of 
freshly-awakened  aspirations,  and  in  the  store  of  memories  which 
shall  enrich  the  whole  of  life,  pleasure  that  they  have  been  your 
pupils;  unbounded  pleasure  and  pride  in  that  they  are  the  first  to 
receive  from  your  hands  St.  Mary's  Cross  of  Honor;  but  pain  for 
every  anxious  moment  they  have  caused  you ;  pain  that  nevermore  shall 
they  listen  to  your  words  of  counsel;  pain  that  they  can  be  your 
pupils  no  longer,  that  they  must  be  the  first  to  say,  Adieu!  Now, 
from  the  depths  of  hearts  too  full  for  utterance,  they  can  only  say, 
Our  Heavenly  Father  have  you  in  His  keeping,  our  priest,  our  friend, 
our  guide. 

To  Our  Teachers: 

Twice  ten  months  have  rolled  away,  each  adding  some  new  link 
to  the  ties  which  bound  us  together,  teacher  and  pupils.  Was  it  only 
to  make  more  sad  the  inevitable  parting?  Different  from  all  others 
is  this  relation  between  teacher  and  scholar  in  a  "boarding  school." 
A  little  band  of  brave  and  noble  women  have  devoted  their  lives  to 

36 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

the  welfare  of  a  thoughtless,  too  often  ungrateful  girlhood.  Not 
mothers,  but  in  a  mother's  place,  how  often  do  they  make  a  mother's 
silent  sacrifice,  how  seldom  receive  a  mother's  reward  of  love?  Dear 
teachers,  you  who  have  so  unselfishly  rejoiced  in  our  joys  and  sympa- 
thized in  our  griefs,  believe  us  not  insensible  to  your  love.  Never,  as 
long  as  life  shall  last,  can  the  sweet  influence  of  your  example  die 
away.  Never  shall  fade  the  remembrance  of  those  morning  hours  when 
time  flew  unheeded  in  talk  of  poetry  and  history,  of  knighthood  and 
chivalry,  of  courtesy  and  generosity.  Nor  shall  be  forgotten  the  after- 
noons when  a  little  class,  now  in  silence,  now  in  earnest  consultation, 
grew  to  love  Art  as  they  had  already  learned  to  love  each  other. 
Stars  and  flowers  shall  whisper  the  name  of  her  who  taught  us 
their  secrets.  In  music  and  song,  and  the  accents  of  a  foreign  tongue, 
and  in  the  "small  sweet  courtesies  of  life,"  there  will  always  be 
something  to  call  back  in  memory  the  dear  faces  and  voices  of  those 
that  taught  us  their  meaning  here. 

Brighter  and  better  pupils  the  coming  years  may  bring  to  fill  the 
places  we  now  leave  forever,  but  never,  in  all  their  round,  dear 
teachers,  shall  you  find  hearts  more  lovingly  grateful  than  those  which 
now  would  fain  refuse  to  say  a  last  Adieu ! 

School  Mates: 

For  the  last  time,  my  dear  school-mates,  we  meet  in  the  familiar 
Study  Hall  which  has  been  the  scene  of  so  many  brave  resolves, 
so  many  well-fought  conflicts ;  so  many  hopes,  so  many  fears,  so  many 
smiles,  so  many  tears.  How  often  have  we  walked  and  talked,  and 
dreamed  and  studied,  and  sung  and  played  together,  here!  Yet,  sad 
and  strange  it  seems,  all  these  we  have  done  for  the  last  time. 
For  the  last  time  we  part,  for  the  last  time  say  "Farewell."  On  earth 
we  may  never  all  meet  again,  but  happy  memories  of  friendships 
begun  here  go  with  us  to  our  homes,  and  promise  continuance  through 
the  days  and  years  to  come.  Let  us  pray  that,  our  life-work  done,  we 
may  all  meet  in  the  land  where  the  shadow  of  parting  falleth  never- 
more. 

Class  Mates: 

In  the  English  language  are  two  words,  to  which  every  heart  must 
respond.  Yet,  very  different  are  these  two  words,  for  one  falls  from 
the  tongue  easily,  with  a  note  of  gladness,  and  the  other  is  hard  to  say. 
The  first  of  these  dear  words  is  "Sister,"  the  last  "Farewell."  The 

37 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

one  is  full  of  smiles,  the  other  overflowing  with  tears.  Yet  "Sister" 
is  tender  enough  for  tears;  "Farewell"  not  always  too  sad  for 
smiles.  Girlhood  is  called  by  the  poets  an  April  day  of  tears  and 
smiles.  But  who  would  wish  the  April  days  left  out,  with  their  fretful 
showers,  their  sudden,  radiant  smilings,  their  blithe,  mysterious  whis- 
pers of  a  June  to  come?  There  is  no  joy  in  life  so  sweet  as  its  half- 
fulfilled  hope;  no  days  so  dear  as  those  which  only  whisper  to  us 
of  the  summer;  no  time  so  bright  as  that  of  youth,  where  tears 
have  always  the  possibility  of  smiles  to  follow.  How  shall  we  give 
it  up?  So  quietly,  so  evenly,  flow  the  days  of  our  school-life.  We 
scarce  can  realize  that  two  years  have  smiled  and  wept  and  worked 
and  dreamed  themselves  out  of  our  lives,  into  our  Heaven,  since 
first  we  entered  St.  Mary's  halls.  We  are  two  years  older — no  sad 
confession  for  a  woman  to  make,  if  only  she  be  two  years  wiser.  Yet, 
though  we  may  not  regret  each  day  as  it  passes,  we  cannot  but  pause 
at  the  open  grave  of  an  era  in  life.  A  completed  time  is  always 
occasion  for  solemn  thought.  One  feels  a  sort  of  mysterious  awe 
and  compassion,  even  for  the  poor  extinct  pterodactyls  and  mastodons 
of  the  dead  ages!  So  we — 

"Standing,  with  reluctant  feet, 
Where  the  brook  and  river  meet," 

look,  with  thoughtfulness  upon  the  ending  of  our  school  days  and 
the  passing  of  the  foolish  dreams,  which  must  soon  seem  to  us,  if  we 
are  not  already  taught  the  lesson,  but  strange  impossibilities. 

Two  years !  It  is  not  an  age  nor  a  decade.  Yet,  never  again  should 
we  live  a  century,  could  come  to  us  two  years  more  potent  to  affect 
our  future.  Certainly,  never  again  can  come  back  to  us  the  school 
girl's  freedom,  her  even,  happy  life,  where  only  dancing  ripples  break 
the  monotonous  surface  into  freshness  and  laughter.  Never  again, 
and  this  thought,  at  least,  must  wake  in  us  some  sadness,  shall  we 
together  tread  these  halls,  endeared  to  us  by  so  many  pleasant  asso- 
ciations. The  mornings  will  rise  as  fair  over  St.  Mary's  as  ever  to 
our  eyes  they  have  risen,  but  never  again  shall  the  early  sun  behold 
us  together  kneeling,  together  repeating  the  strong,  simple  prayers 
we  have  learned  to  love  so  well.  The  afternoon  may  draw  on  with 
light  and  song,  but  it  will  not  bring  us  back  to  the  old,  accustomed 
seats.  In  a  great  school,  with  its  ever-recurring  changes,  a  school 
girl  can  not  hope  for  lasting  remembrance.  The  place  that  knew  her, 
not  only  will  know  her  no  more,  it  will  welcome  another.  Yet,  though 

38 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

we  may  be  forgotten  by  St.  Mary's,  she  can  never  be  forgotten  by  us, 
whatever  life  has  in  store.  And  what  has  it  not  in  store  for  a  young 
girl?  One  "dreams  of  marble  halls,"  of  foreign  climes,  of  glowing 
pictures,  and  rare  books;  one,  of  the  laurel  wreath  that  shall  crown 
the  Queen  of  Song;  and  one,  only  that  she  may  do  her  woman's 
work,  whatever  that  work  may  be,  only  that  she  may  do  it  purely, 
nobly,  with  smiling  self-forgetfulness. 

We  have  chosen  for  our  emblem  St.  Mary's  flower,  the  lily,  and 
for  our  motto  that  of  St.  Mary's  School,  "Blessed  are  the  Pure  in 
Heart."  God  bless  you,  my  classmates,  with  the  lily's  purity  of 
thought,  its  golden  heart  of  love! 

Pond  lilies,  floating  in  a  dream  of  languor 
On  the  dark  lake  that  never  ebbs  nor  swells ; 

Day  lilies,  opening  chaliced  lips  to  heaven, 
Breathing  out  fragrance  over  quiet  dells ; 

Ah!  let  your  dying,  passionate  breath  to  sunset 
Say,  Love  and  anguish  meet  in  last  Farewells! 

Sweet  lilies,  dwelling  in  the  sheltered  valley, 
Ring,  softly  ring,  each  purest  fairy-bell; 

Sing  to  my  sisters,  when  my  lips  are  silent, 

All  the  heart's  sadness  in  the  fond  Farewell! 

To  the  Trustees: 

To  the  Trustees  of  St.  Mary's  School  its  pupils  feel  that  they 
owe  a  debt  of  gratitude.  To  your  energy  and  enterprise  are  we 
largely  indebted  for  these  pleasant  halls,  this  sheltered  home.  Larger 
cities,  with  stately  mansions  and  business  palaces,  but  without  other 
schools  than  those  ordained  by  law,  might  well  be  shamed  by  the 
spirit  which  has  awakened  the  people  of  Knoxville  to  higher  aims, 
and  the  energy  which  has  carried  them  out  in  the  face  of  discourage- 
ment and  threatened  failure.  May  your  work  be  crowned  with 
richer  success  and  a  golden  harvest  each  succeeding  year!  And  of  all 
who  shall  reap  the  benefits  of  your  noble  enterprise,  believe  none 
more  grateful  than  they  who  have  taken'  its  first  fruits,  the  little 
class  who  now  must  say  Farewell ! 

To  St.  Mary's: 

Two  years  ago  last  Easter-tide,  St.  Mary's  infant  School  was 
consecrated  to  God  and  the  womanhood  of  America.  To  her  "classic 

39 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

halls"  three  teachers  welcomed  three  boarding  pupils.  One  year  passed 
away,  and  the  next  Easter  was,  as  our  venerable  Bishop  loved  to 
call  it,"  Baby's  Birthday."  The  Baby  had  a  Birthday  cake,  bedecked 
with  streamers  and  illuminated  by  one  little,  lonely  wax  taper.  Great 
was  the  rejoicing,  but  it  was  destined  to  be  far  surpassed  by  the 
festivities  of  her  second  birthday.  The  modest  cake  had  grown  to  a 
huge  pyramid,  brave  with  gay  pennants,  and  resplendent  in  the 
light  of  two  tapers,  which  had  the  honor  of  being  blown  out  by  two 
of  the  wisest  and  merriest  Doctors  of  the  Church.  On  that  ever- 
memorable  occasion  seven  teachers  made  a  brave  and  not  all  vain 
attempt  to  out-talk  and  out-laugh  thirty-five  girls.  We  yield  to  them 
the  palm  in  talking,  for  we  are  quite  sure  we  did  little  but  laugh. 
And  what  school  could  have  a  better  right  to  laugh  than  brave, 
two-year-old  St.  Mary's?  Doubt  and  danger,  discouragement  and 
difficulty  past,  a  glorious  future  beckons  her  to  its  wider  skies.  Trials 
may,  no  doubt,  await  her,  but  she  has  learned  to  walk  alone.  Alone  ? 
No,  there  is  one  who  has  guided  her  infant  steps,  whose  strong  arm 
must  still  be  her  support. 

Alma  Mater!  We  knew  that  that  sweet  Easter-tide  was 
the  last  that  should  dawn  upon  us  in  thy  walls,  that  never  again 
in  the  hush  of  the  early  Resurrection  morning,  should  we,  an  unbroken 
band,  walk  in  reverent  silence  to  that  little  flower-decked  church. 
Christmas  carols  had  long  since  died  away  in  gladness,  and  the  last 
echo  of  the  Lenten  Miserere  had  sobbed  itself  out  in  penitential  tears. 
Yet  still,  brightly  rose  the  glorious  Whitsunday,  when,  for  the  last 
time,  our  trembling  fingers  adorned  the  little  chancel  with  flowers  of 
purest  white.  Sweeter  than  all  days  save  one,  it  shall  be  enshrined  in 
memory;  solemn  with  our  united  prayer  at  the  bedside  of  age  and 
poverty;  beautiful,  sublimely  beautiful  with  the  glory  of  our  sunset 
hymn. 

Alma  Mater!  Nevermore  shall  thy  first-born  kneel  together 
in  thy  presence!  There  is  a  day  beloved  of  all  thy  children,  a  royal 
day,  robed  in  the  purple  and  gold  of  the  misty  Indian  Summer,  a 
day  when  we  sing  our  much  loved  hymn,  Jerusalem  the  Golden,  and 
almost  fancy  we  can  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  pearly  gates  and  the 
twelve-fold  radiance.  And  may  we  not  hope  for  a  Heavenly  day, 
when  St.  Mary's  students  and  teachers  shall  learn  of  their  great 
Master  the  wonders  of  that  New  Jerusalem  whereof  they  have  sung 
on  earth?  God  grant  that  not  alone  the  little  band  who  now  part 

40 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

in  sadness,  but  many  thousand  loyal  hearts,  dear  Alma  Mater,  shall 
wear  a  brighter  crown  for  thee! 

Alma  Mater!  dearest  mother, 

Named  from  Mary,  holy  mother, 
Who  can  guess,  in  fondest  dreaming, 
All   thy   noon-day's   glorious   beaming? 

Who  can  all  thy  treasures  tell? 

Alma  Mater!  gentle  mother, 

Sweetest,  fairest,  loving  mother, 
Chide  us  not,  one  moment  staying 
Weeping,  'Tis  for  thee  we're  praying, 

Blessings  on  thee,  dearest  mother, 

Alma  Mater,  Vale!  Vale! 

Tender  mother,  Fare  thee  well! 


4i 


CHAPTER  IV 

STUDENT  of  Browning  announces  the 
discovery  of  the  paradox,  that  life  is  success- 
ful to  the  extent  that  it  seems  a  failure.  In 
proof  of  this,  ingenious  arguments  are  sug- 
gested; but  the  converse  of  the  proposition  seems  to  me 
more  easily  maintained,  namely,  that  life  is  a  failure  to 
the  extent  that  it  seems  a  success. 

At  least  it  may  be  so  with  a  school.  This  was  im- 
pressively apparent  soon  after  the  inspiring  scene  of 
that  first  Graduates'  Day.  Success  had  been  achieved, 
but  what  were  we  going  to  do  with  it?  The  makeshifts 
and  equipments  which  had  served  during  the  day  of 
small  things  were  pitifully  inadequate  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  work,  even  as  already  established.  How 
should  we  be  able  to  follow  up  and  make  good  the  suc- 
cess achieved? 

Standards  of  living  were  rapidly  changing.  People 
were  not  satisfied  with  the  conditions  of  frontier  life. 
Illinois  was  no  longer  the  "far  West."  With  advance  in 
culture  came  increase  in  the  cost  of  living,  increase  in 
wages  and  salaries,  so  that  without  increase  of  income 
we  could  not  hope  to  pay  expenses,  much  less  to  prepare 
for  larger  attendance. 

As  in  the  day  of  success  the  ill-omened  witches  met 
Macbeth,  so  in  the  brightest  hour  of  our  enterprise  we 
were  confronted  by  conditions  that  seemed  to  make  our 

42 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

success  a  failure.  This  was  the  more  assured,  since  we 
could  see  no  way  to  pay  the  old  debt  of  the  Ewing  Uni- 
versity, then  amounting  to  about  $4,000. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  had  gained  a  school,  already 
well-known  and  of  good  repute,  with  promise  of  higher 
grade  and  larger  growth  than  at  first  we  had  presumed 
to  plan.  Our  vision  was  no  longer  of  a  little  boarding 
school  on  the  prairie,  but  of  an  institution  that  should 
take  high  rank  among  the  Church  schools  of  the  coun- 
try. 

The  year  that  followed,  1870-71,  was  the  third  full 
year,  not  counting  the  first  term  of  ten  weeks  in  1868. 
We  had  added  a  few  alcoves  in  the  large  play  room  on 
the  second  floor,  but  our  accommodations  were  still  in- 
adequate, and  our  equipment  was  inferior  and  insuffi- 
cient. The  situation  was  depressing.  Prosperity,  under 
such  conditions,  was  almost  as  hard  to  bear  as  failure. 

BISHOP  WHITEHOUSE  attended  the  reopening 
in  September,  and  addressed  the  School.  His  pres- 
ence was  an  inspiration,  his  words  of  commendation 
and  encouragement  gave  us  new  life  and  hope.  St. 
Mary's  owes  much  to  her  first  Bishop.  With  all  his  toil 
and  travel,  the  care  and  oversight  of  his  great  diocese, 
he  found  time  to  visit  this  little  school  in  an  obscure 
town,  freely  giving  to  it  his  eloquent  counsel,  and  shar- 
ing its  social  and  domestic  life.  His  happy  and  helpful 
influence  still  lives  in  the  high  traditions  and  character 
of  the  institution  which  he  fostered.  Our  first  endowed 
scholarship  bears  his  name. 

The  Bishop's  official  commendation  we  were  al- 
lowed to  publish  in  the  Annual  Register : 

"St.  Mary's  School  has  won  and  steadily  sustained  my  heartiest 
confidence  in  its  management  and  success.  This  noble  work  com- 

43 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

mends  itself,  at  every  step,  more  and  more  to  my  love  and  admira- 
tion, in  its  mission  to  educate  soul  as  well  as  mind,  and  to  bring  up 
the  daughters  of  the  Church  so  that  'strength  and  honor  shall  be 
her  clothing,  and  she  shall  rejoice  in  time  to  come.' 

Henry  J.  Whitehouse." 

The  Bishop  came  again  for  Confirmation,  during 
Easter  week,  and  delighted  us  with  another  address  at 
the  Anniversary  celebration.  At  the  second  graduation, 
June  15,  1 871,  three  students  received  the  Cross  of 
Honor  with  Diploma:  Mary  McCracken  and  Mary 
Winter,  of  Knoxville,  and  Theresa  Woodruff,  of 
Quincy.  Like  the  graduates  of  the  preceding  class,  these 
were  young  women  of  unusual  earnestness  and  ability. 
Their  influence  was  for  good  in  our  little  school  world ; 
honor  and  blessing  attended  their  post-graduate 
career. 

This  third  year  was  not  notable  in  any  way,  but  it 
was  a  year  of  good  work  and  growing  reputation. 
Though  there  was  no  "enlarging  of  the  borders,"  there 
was  a  "strengthening  of  the  stakes."  There  were  fre- 
quent visits  of  clergy  and  patrons,  and  their  expressions 
of  approval  were  encouraging.  Selections  from  com- 
mendatory letters  were  published  in  the  School  Register 
of  that  year,  and  subsequently  from  year  to  year.  Most 
gratifying  was  the  assurance  that  St.  Mary's  was  known 
and  appreciated  "for  its  physical,  social,  and  spiritual 
culture";  "for  its  careful  training  and  kindly  dis- 
cipline" ;  "not  only  in  academic  but  in  social,  religious, 
and  Churchly  relations";  "for  the  development  of  all 
that  goes  to  make  up  cultured,  accomplished,  and  Chris- 
tian women."  It  was  helpful  to  know  that  the  best 
things  we  had  worked  for  were  the  things  most  highly 
valued  by  the  best  people.  The  assurance  that  our  ideal 
was  so  nearly  attained  and  was  so  generally  approved, 

44 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

helped  us  to  persevere  in  the  work  which  was  still  beset 
by  many  discouragements. 

THE  relation  of  St.  Mary's  to  the  Church,  its  dis- 
tinctive character  as  a  Church  school,  was  not  gen- 
erally regarded  with  favor  in  the  Mid  West,  but,  for 
all  that,  less  than  half  our  students  were  from  Church 
families.  Indeed,  so  it  was  with  our  candidates  for  Con- 
firmation. In  some  cases,  as  we  afterwards  learned, 
daughters  were  sent  to  St.  Mary's  under  a  promise  from 
them  that  they  would  not  be  confirmed. 

Sometimes  applications  were  made  on  condition 
that  the  School  should  not  influence  the  daughter  "to 
become  a  member  of  your  Church"!  I  remember  the 
case  of  a  good  Methodist  mother  who  offered  to  send 
her  two  daughters  to  us,  on  condition  that  we  would 
not  "allow"  them  to  be  confirmed.  Declining  this 
proposition  (though  painfully  conscious  of  the  finan- 
cial sacrifice)  I  asked  why  she  had  selected  a  school 
which  she  feared  might  have  a  harmful  influence.  "Be- 
cause I  think  your  Church  system  is  best  adapted  to 
the  education  of  girls,"  she  said,  "but  I  do  not  want 
them  to  become  Episcopalians."  The  daughters  came  to 
St.  Mary's;  one  of  them,  after  graduation,  was  con- 
firmed and  has  a  noble  record  of  helpful  service  in 
the  Church,  during  half  a  century. 

The  Church  "system"  of  which  the  Methodist 
mother  approved,  was  not  insidious  propaganda  for 
making  converts,  but  a  daily  habit  of  devotion,  a  daily 
practice  of  religion  without  cant  or  controversy.  Our 
choral  Matins  and  Evensong  were  very  brief  (twelve 
or  fifteen  minutes)  ;  our  Sunday  sermon  was  not  much 
longer.  Counting  the  four  Bible  lessons  of  the  Sunday 
services  and  the  chapters  read  at  daily  Matins,  there 

45 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

were  about  three  hundred  Scripture  readings  during  the 
School  year.  Hymns  were  sung  at  every  service;  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  psalms,  the  entire  Psalter  was 
sung  several  times  a  year. 

The  daily  services  were  a  part  of  the  prescribed 
order  of  the  School,  as  much  as  the  daily  walk  and  daily 
classroom  duty.  Besides  these  services  there  were  Sun- 
day classes  which  included  all  students,  requiring  but 
little  preparation  and  only  a  brief  period  of  time,  on 
Sunday  afternoons.  The  subjects  assigned  to  these  class- 
es, beginning  with  the  elementary,  were:  Bible  Stories, 
The  Christian  Year,  The  Prayer  Book,  The  Bible,  The 
Life  of  Christ,  Church  History.  All  learned  and  re- 
cited the  Church  Catechism ;  there  is  nothing  in  it  dis- 
tinctively "Episcopalian."  Definite  Church  teaching 
was  given  to  the  candidates  for  Confirmation,  and  to 
communicants;  the  seniors  had  lectures  in  Church  His- 
tory. This  brief  outline  of  Church  life  and  work  at  St. 
Mary's  should  include  an  account  of  the  Missionary 
Society  and  the  Altar  Guild.  Reference  will  be  made 
to  these  in  succeeding  chapters. 

The  prejudice  against  the  Church  name  and  Church 
influence  of  the  School  was  never  a  serious  disadvan- 
tage, I  think,  and  within  a  few  years  it  almost  entirely 
disappeared.  For  a  long  time  the  majority  of  our  pa- 
trons were  not  Church  people,  as  we  understand  the 
word,  and  I  have  never  been  able  to  explain  it.  Perhaps 
it  was  because,  at  that  time,  our  Church  families  in  the 
West  were  so  few  in  comparison  with  the  whole  popula- 
tion. But  St.  Mary's  was  the  only  Church  school  (with 
the  exception  of  Bishop  Whipple's  school  at  Faribault) 
west  of  Ohio,  and  from  Chicago  alone  there  should 
have  been  enough  patronage  to  sustain  a  dozen  Church 
schools. 

46 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

With  scarcely  an  exception  the  Church  appoint- 
ments and  exercises  at  St.  Mary's  were  cheerfully  ac- 
cepted by  the  students,  and  in  later  years  were  remem- 
bered as  among  the  pleasantest  experiences  of  school 
life.  Over  and  above  their  importance  as  devotional 
habits,  they  had  a  distinct  educational  value,  a  whole- 
some influence  on  the  morale  and  order  of  the  commu- 
nity life.  In  the  daily  recital  of  the  noble  liturgy,  in 
the  choral  service,  in  familiarity  with  the  words  and 
music  of  the  best  hymns  of  the  ages,  in  the  reading  of 
the  Bible,  the  world's  greatest  Book  of  religion,  his- 
tory, and  literature,  there  was  intellectual  as  well  as 
spiritual  culture.  Surely,  the  time  given  to  Church  ser- 
vices was  well  spent,  even  from  a  secular  point  of  view. 

This  paragraph  from  the  Annual  Register  briefly 
expresses  the  ideal,  the  purpose  and  plan,  of  the  educa- 
tional work  at  St.  Mary's: 

"The  mind  is  not  educated  at  the  expense  of  the  body,  nor  are 
mind  and  body  trained  without  regard  to  the  spiritual  nature.  The 
School  is  a  Church  school,  a  Christian  family.  Its  religious  exercises 
and  instructions  are  from  the  Bible  and  Prayer  Book.  It  endeavors 
to  teach  those  things  which  a  Christian  ought  to  know  and  believe 
to  his  soul's  health,  that  the  children  committed  to  its  care  may 
be  virtuously  brought  up  to  lead  a  godly  and  a  Christian  life." 

THE  fourth  year,  beginning  September  6,  1871,  was 
a  great  year  for  St.  Mary's.  "Praised  be  God,  who 
hath  not  cast  out  our  prayer,  nor  turned  His  mercy  from 
us."  The  Story  of  St.  Mary's  has  been  so  far  rather  dole- 
ful; I  rejoice  in  being  able  now  to  record  a  season  of 
great  encouragement. 

But  let  me  say  in  passing,  that  the  earlier  years  were 
not  without  blessing  and  much  good  cheer.  Those  who 
served  at  St.  Mary's  were  too  much  in  earnest  about 

47 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

present  duty  to  give  place  to  despondent  forecasting. 
There  was  reason  enough  for  anxious  thought,  but  lit- 
tle time  to  indulge  it,  and  we  were  mercifully  spared 
such  great  calamities  as  came  upon  us  later. 

About  a  month  after  the  reopening  of  school  oc- 
curred the  Chicago  fire.  It  was  an  appalling  conflagra- 
tion, a  shock  to  the  sympathies,  a  paralysis  to  the  busi- 
ness of  the  whole  western  country.  It  is  almost  forgot- 
ten now,  in  view  of  the  great  city  that  has  risen  out  of 
the  ruins. 

A  few  days  after  the  fire  I  visited  the  "burned  dis- 
trict," walking  through  four  miles  of  ruins,  and  I  was 
then  one  mile  short  of  the  northern  limit  of  the  fire. 
Washington  Park  was  crowded  with  refugees  who  had 
sought  shelter  under  blankets  and  bed-quilts  that  had 
been  snatched  from  burning  homes.  Our  few  Chicago 
patrons  were  living  in  the  suburbs,  beyond  reach  of  the 
flames.  While  all  had  suffered  loss,  no  student  was  with- 
drawn from  school. 

So  was  the  door  of  our  fourth  year  opened  by  calam- 
ity, for  upon  Chicago  we  had  depended  for  payment  of 
the  debt  which  came  to  us  with  the  property.  Subscrip- 
tions for  the  payment  had  been  made,  for  the  most  part, 
by  Chicago  Churchmen.  These  pledges  had  gone  up  in 
a  cloud  of  smoke,  but  the  cloud  had  a  silver  living. 
After  the  fire,  the  good  citizens  of  Knoxville  paid  the 
debt  in  full!  This  was  the  first  financial  aid  that  the 
School  had  received  from  any  source  at  any  time.  It 
was  more  than  temporary  relief,  as  it  opened  the  way 
to  other  gifts,  to  the  enlargement  of  the  building,  to 
the  increase  of  attendance  and  income. 

For  it  was  at  this  crisis  that  James  Knox  first  came 
in  touch  with  St.  Mary's,  and  became  interested  in  it 
as  a  Knoxville  institution.  Mr.  Knox  was  one  of  the 

48 


Hon.  James  Knox,  LL.D. 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

pioneers  of  Knox  County,  though  the  County  was  not 
named  after  him.  He  had  been  a  student  at  Hamilton 
College,  graduated  at  Yale,  studied  law,  left  his  prac- 
tice to  aid  his  brother  in  business  in  Knoxville,  and  later 
represented  his  district  in  Congress.  He  was  one  of 
Knox  County's  leading  citizens. 

The  meeting  that  was  called  at  St.  Mary's  to  ar- 
range for  the  payment  of  the  debt  brought  Mr.  Knox 
to  the  School,  and  from  that  hour  he  was  "a  friend  in 
need  and  a  friend  indeed."  Within  a  few  months  he 
pledged  ten  thousand  dollars  for  the  "new  building." 
He  appointed  the  Rector  an  executor  of  his  will,  and 
made  St.  Mary's  his  residuary  legatee.  From  this  legacy 
over  fifty  thousand  dollars  came  to  the  School,  after  the 
fire  in  1883,  and  assured  the  rebuilding  and  continuance 
of  the  institution.  All  honor  to  this  first  (and  last)  large 
giver,  who  made  it  possible  to  rebuild  and  enlarge  St. 
Mary's  School.  The  work  and  workers,  so  poorly  pro- 
vided in  the  old  building,  must  soon  have  sought  shelter 
elsewhere,  but  for  the  timely  and  generous  benefactions 
of  the  Hon.  James  Knox. 

Early  in  this  fourth  year  (1871-72)  appeared  the 
first  issue  of  The  Sigma  Mu  Palladium.  This  little  pe- 
riodical (which  later  became  The  Quarterly)  had  a 
long  and  useful  career.  It  is  quite  unusual  that  a  school 
paper  is  maintained  with  regularity  for  half  a  century; 
yet  The  Palladium  (continued  as  The  Quarterly)  made 
that  record,  serving  to  interest,  instruct,  and  entertain; 
to  keep  in  touch  with  the  alumnae,  and  to  represent  the 
life  and  work  of  the  School.  It  was  well  worth  all  that 
it  cost  in  labor  and  money.  It  paid  its  way,  mostly,  by 
small  subscriptions.  From  it  the  material  for  this  story 
has  been  largely  gathered;  indeed,  without  it  the  pres- 
ent writing  would  not  have  been  undertaken.  Portions 

49 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

of  this  book  appearing  in  smaller  type  are  taken  from 
The  Palladium. 

THANKSGIVING  DAY 

WE  began  Thanksgiving  in  the  best  possible  manner  by  attending 
church.  Later,  we  assembled  by  invitation  in  the  Reception 
Room,  where  we  were  presented  to  Mr.  and  Miss  Knox,  the  guests 
of  honor. 

The  dining  hall  awaiting  us  was  so  decorated  with  pictures, 
statuary,  flowers,  and  vines,  that  we  could  hardly  believe  we  were 
in  that  familiar  room. 

Among  the  "sweets  for  the  sweet"  of  the  dessert,  were  many 
original  mottoes,  which  were  read  aloud  by  Mr.  Leffingwell,  causing 
great  merriment.  The  toast,  "The  Sixth  Thanksgiving  Day  at  St. 
Mary's,"  was  responded  to  by  Miss  Weaver,  and  "The  Founders 
and  Benefactors  of  St.  Mary's  School,"  by  Miss  Burrows.  Mr.  Knox 
was  called  upon  for  a  speech,  but  gave  instead  the  following  senti- 
ment: 

"The  mother  of  the  Gracchi  presented  to  her  friends  her  sons  as  her 
jewels;  may  the  mothers  of  America  be  able  to  present  their  daughters, 
educated  at  St.  Mary's  and  similar  institutions,  as  their  most  precious  jewels." 

In  the  evening  we  again  assembled  in  the  Withdrawing  Room,  and 
after  partaking  of  more  refreshments  to  fortify  us  for  the  evening's 
festivities,  the  merriment  began.  We  danced,  played  Blindman's 
Buff — and  by  the  way,  I  think  that  several  members  of  the  school 
especially  excel  in  this  interesting  game — we  shouted  proverbs,  and 
lastly  played  the  "Minister's  Cat." 

But  alas!  good  times  will  not  last  forever,  and  all  too  soon  the 
retiring  bell  rang.  So,  after  bidding  the  teachers  "Good  Night," 
we  separated,  feeling  that  we  had  passed  a  very  pleasant  day. 

THE  RECTOR'S  BIRTHDAY 

THE  Rector's  birthday  was  the  occasion  of  a  merry  making. 
Early  in  the  evening  the  family  assembled  in  the  Withdraw- 
ing Room,  and  a  committee  of  two  (the  pupils  who  had  been  longest 
at  St.  Mary's)  waited  upon  the  Rector  with  a  request  from  the 
family  that  he  would  meet  them.  As  he  entered,  all  arose,  and  one  of 
the  young  ladies  stepped  forward  and  addressed  him  as  follows: 

"Dear  Mr.  Leffingwell:  We  meet  here  tonight  to  celebrate  the  birthday 
of  one  who  has  been  to  us  a  tender,  sympathizing  friend,  and  faithful  guide. 

50 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

As  the  years  roll  by,  and  your  birthdays  are  remembered  by  others,  do  not 
forget  those  who  tonight  offer  you  their  hearty  congratulations." 

Following  the  congratulations  of  teachers  and  scholars,  and  of 
the  Rector's  little  children,  including  the  irrepressible  baby,  all  sang : 


THE  BIRTHDAY  HYMN 

GOD  bless  our  Rector  dear! 
Fondly  we'll  cherish 
Thoughts  of  his  tender  care, 

Till  memory  perish. 
God  grant  him  happy  days, 

All  good  possessing — 
Ruling  with  wisest  love, 
Youthful  hearts  blessing. 

"God  bless  our  Rector  dear! 

Protect  and  guide  him; 
Peace  crown  each  flying  year, 

No  ill  betide  him. 
And  when  life's  work  is  o'er, 

To  him  be  given 
Crowns  of  rejoicing,  bright 

As  stars  in  heaven." 

The  Rector  thanked  the  family  in  a  pleasant  and  appropriate 
speech,  telling  them  that  their  kindness  and  thoughtfulness  made 
him  feel  a  year  younger,  rather  than  a  year  older.  He  also  spoke 
of  the  many  causes  for  congratulation  and  thankfulness  which  we 
had  in  the  present  prosperity  of  the  School  and  in  the  prospect  of 
the  future. 

At  the  close  of  his  speech  he  was  informed  that  "the  study  hour 
had  been  stolen,"  so  as  to  leave  the  evening  free.  Then  followed 
merry  games ;  some  of  the  new  scholars  were  initiated,  with  due  state 
and  ceremony,  into  the  ancient  and  honorable  order  of  "Knights 
of  the  Whistle."  We  had  nearly  forgotten  to  mention  an  amusing 
episode.  During  the  Rector's  speech,  little  Alice,  with  a  reckless; 
disregard  of  the  fitness  of  things,  exclaimed,  "Mamma,  why  don't 
the  pie  be  brought  in?" 

So  here  comes  the  pie!  The  lights  were  suddenly  turned  down, 
the  door  was  opened,  and  lo!  a  blaze  from  the  birthday  cake,  the 
blaze  of — we  will  not  say  how  many  candles.  The  cake  being  pre- 

51 


IX  OF  ILL  LIB. 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

sented,  and  duly  deposited  on  the  center  table,  "all  joined  hands  and 
circled  to  the  right,"  dancing  by  the  light  of  the  flickering  candles. 
An  impromptu  torchlight  procession  followed,  and  most  picturesque 
it  was,  the  tiny  tapers  shining  like  little  stars  as  the  procession  moved 
with  slow  and  stately  steps  down  the  room.  A  comical  scene  followed, 
each  trying  to  keep  her  own  taper  lighted,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
extinguish  those  of  her  neighbors.  We  never  shall  tell  whose  candle 
burned  longest! 

The  cake  was  cut  and  divided  with  mathematical  accuracy,  and 
each  one  kept  a  candle-end  as  a  souvenir.  At  prayers  we  sang  Jerusa- 
lem the  Golden,  that  precious  hymn  which  has  hallowed  many  a 
festival  at  St.  Mary's;  and  with  the  benediction  the  family  parted 
to  rest. 

PROSPECTUS 

THE  PALLADIUM,  now  appearing  for  the  first  time  in  print, 
was*  the  popular  organ  of  the  Sigma  Mu  Society.  The  interest 
it  excited,  and  the  frequent  wish  expressed  by  the  friends  of  the 
School  that  it  should  be  put  in  a  form  for  circulation,  have  induced 
the  Society  to  publish  it. 

As  when  merely  read  in  manuscript  form  at  the  Society's  enter- 
tainments it  will  represent  the  social  life  of  the  School,  reports  being 
given  of  the  merry-makings  which  from  time  to  time  relieve  the 
weariness  of  close  application  to  study,  and  without  which  the  stu- 
dent's work  cannot  be  well  done.  The  Society  has  ever  held  that 
"all  work  and  no  play"  is  as  unwholesome  for  Johanna  as  for  John, 
and  in  catering  for  the  limited  though  highly  appreciative  public 
of  St.  Mary's,  has  ever  acted  upon  this  principle. 

The  title  of  our  paper  has  been,  we  trust,  not  less  aptly  than 
classically  chosen.  What  the  Palladium,  the  image  of  Pallas,  was 
to  ancient  Troy,  its  preservation  and  its  safety,  The  Palladium  we 
hope  may  be  to  the  School  whose  interests  it  represents.  It  is  related 
in  mythology,  that  when  the  blue-eyed  Pallas-Athene,  the  Minerva 
of  the  Romans,  sprang  from  the  head  of  Zeus,  Olympus  shook,  and 
the  charioteer  of  the  sun  stopped  his  snorting  steeds  that  he  might 
gaze  upon  the  new-born  goddess.  We  are  aware  that  modesty  becomes 
our  youth,  and  will  therefore  but  hint  of  the  possibility  of  a  similar 
sensation  in  the  modern  Olympus,  the  fair  realm  of  letters,  when 
The  Palladium  appears. 

We  cannot  leave  the  subject  of  the  title  without  quoting  from 

52 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

the  minutes  of  the  meeting  at  which  the  name  was  adopted.  "Ladies 
of  the  Society,"  said  an  irrepressible  member,  "let  me  urge  upon  you 
the  adoption  of  this  title,  not  by  a  labored  speech,  but  by  a  brief 
summing  up  of  its  merits.  It  is  sonorous,  musical,  high-sounding, 
classical,  and  easy  to  spell !"  It  was  unanimously  adopted. 

LETTERS  FROM  MR.  KNOX 

THE  Rector  has  received  these  very  interesting  letters  from  the 
generous  benefactor   of   St.    Mary's   School,   the   Hon.   James 
Knox: 

Hotel  Arnim,  Berlin,  July  30,  1872. 
Rev.  C.  W.  Leffingwell, 
Rector  of  "St.  Mary's." 

My  dear  Sir: 

I  have  yet  to  acknowledge  and  thank  you  for  your  very  kind 
and  interesting  favor  of  June  1st.  At  the  time  of  its  receipt  my  mind 
was  occupied  with  preparations  for  my  departure  from  my  native 
land.  Before  leaving  New  York,  however,  I  did  not  omit  giving  Mr. 
Runkle  such  instructions  as  I  hoped  would  be  satisfactory  to  you. 
Sailing  from  New  York  on  the  13th  of  June,  I  arrived  here  on  the 
26th,  after  a  pleasant  voyage  and  two  days  of  enjoyment  in  the  free 
and  ancient  city  of  Hamburg.  On  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  July, 
I  received  a  characteristic  letter  from  Mr.  Runkle,  covering  extracts 
from  Knox  County  papers,  with  reports  of  the  doings  at  St.  Mary's 
during  the  closing  ceremonies  of  the  School.  These,  with  later  advices, 
have  fully  convinced  me  that  everything  connected  with  the  laying 
of  the  Corner  Stone  was  conducted  in  good  order  and  with  becoming 
dignity.  In  short,  you  made  it  a  "great  occasion" !  The  only  exception 
I  could  take  to  the  proceedings  and  newspaper  notices,  was  the  too 
prominent  mention  of  my  humble  self.  But,  as  I  wrote  my  sister, 
if  my  old  neighbors  and  friends  are  content,  I  hope,  at  this  respectful 
distance,  to  survive  the  infliction! 

Since  my  arrival  here  I  have  been  in  correspondence  with  a  highly 
esteemed  friend  of  New  York  City,  at  present  in  Paris.  At  my  instance 
she  has  consented  to  place  in  your  charge  her  granddaughter  and 
adopted  child.  If  everything  results  as  I  hope,  it  will  be  an  item  in 
the  history  of  St.  Mary's  that  you  have  added  to  your  wide-spread 
patrons,  one  from  the  Diocese  of  New  York;  and  the  result  will  be 

53 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 

not  the  less  remarkable  that  it  has  been  brought  about  by  a  diplomatic 
correspondence  between  Paris  and  Berlin! 


I  send  you  a  leaf  from  my  Rechnung,  which  will  show  my  location 
and  extravagant  (?)  manner  of  living,  in  one  of  the  best  hotels  in 
Berlin.  This  hotel  is  situated  about  midway  between  the  Brandenburg 
Gate  and  the  old  Palace,  or  rather  Castle,  of  Frederick  the  Great. 
It  is  the  only  hotel  on  this  world-renowned  avenue  having  balconies, 
and  my  balcony  (exclusively  so)  commands  one  of  the  finest  views 
to  be  had  of  Unter  den  Linden.  From  it  I  see  on  my  right  the  Thor 
(gate)  surmounted  with  the  historic  "Car  of  Victory,"  and  on  my 
left  the  palaces  of  the  Emperor,  his  son,  and  the  castle  of  "Old  Fritz," 
near  which,  in  the  center  of  the  avenue,  stands  the  wonderful  Eques- 
trian Statue,  in  bronze,  of  the  old  German  hero.  Before  me  there 
is  an  ever-living  and  moving  panorama,  intermixed  with  daily  mili- 
tary parade,  enlivened,  of  course,  with  the  beautiful  martial  strains 
of  the  Vaterland! 

I  step  back  into  my  room,  close  my  glazed  doors,  and  am  more 
retired  than  I  could  be  in  any  country  tavern  in  America! 

With  best  wishes  and  kindest  regards,  I  am 

Your  friend, 

J.  Knox. 

ANOTHER  LETTER  FROM  MR.  KNOX 

My  dear  Mr.  Leffingwell: 

In  October,  1859,  with  sight  impaired,  home  and  business  neg- 
lected, I  left  New  York  for  Berlin,  Prussia,  blind  and  bankrupt. 
The  loss  of  sight  proved  a  blessing  in  disguise.  My  financial  troubles 
vanished  before  this  greater  affliction.  Despite  painful  operations  and 
months  of  confinement  (mostly  in  a  dark  room)  in  Klinik,  I  may  set 
down  my  first  year  in  Germany  as  among  the  happiest  of  my  life. 
It  had  some  drawbacks,  at  first.  I  was  blind,  and  for  a  time  deaf  and 
dumb ;  for  I  was  ignorant  of  German  and  my  companions  were  guilt- 
less of  the  English  tongue.  There  are,  however,  enjoyments  among 
the  afflicted  which  those  favored  with  health  and  wealth  can  not 
know.  There  is  a  fund  of  sympathy  and  kindness  among  the  suffering, 
which  goes  from  hand  to  hand,  from  heart  to  heart;  most,  when 
eyesight  fails,  and  when  words  are  only  understood  by  the  friendly 
tones  in  which  they  are  uttered. 

54 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

In  1 86 1  I  returned  seeing,  and  with  strong  hope  of  a  financial 
future.  I  was  welcomed  back  and  was  happy.  In  1865  my  eyes  again 
induced  me  to  cross  the  ocean,  I  took  a  second  course  in  the  Klinik, 
to  the  high  honor  of  my  benefactor,  Professor  V.  G.,  and  saw  much 
of  Europe  which  I  never  should  have  seen  if  I  had  not  been  blind. 

Again,  in  1872,  I  crossed  the  ocean,  not  on  account  of  my  sight 
but  just  because  I  wanted  to  go.  I  returned  in  1873  to  Knoxville, 
where  I  have  remained  until  the  present  writing. 

I  must  mention,  I  was  in  Berlin  in  '66,  at  the  opening  and 
close  of  the  war  between  Prussia  and  Austria,  and  witnessed  the 
triumphal  return  of  the  Prussians  into  their  great  city.  Again,  last 
year,  I  saw  from  my  window  in  Hotel  Arnim,  Unter  den  Linden, 
the  procession  in  honor  of  the  meeting  of  the  three  Kings;  to  say 
nothing  of  a  glittering  procession  on  occasion  of  the  betrothal  of  a 
princess.  Details  of  these  and  less  important  events,  I  spare  you; 
are  they  not  recorded  and  illustrated  in  the  newspapers  of  the  civilized 

world?  J.  Knox. 

DR.  CORBETTS  VISIT 

AMONG  the  early  visitors  we  are  pleased  to  note  the  Reverend 
Dr.  Sidney  Corbett,  Rector  of  St.  John's  Church,  Quincy, 
who  from  his  genial  manners  was  ever  a  welcome  guest  at  St.  Mary's. 
Mrs.  Leffingwell  gave  a  tea-party  in  his  honor,  and  the  young  ladies 
were  presented  to  him.  Tea  was  served  in  the  Rector's  library.  The 
scene  was  one  of  rare  brilliance,  as  the  bevy  of  fair  damsels  gathered 
around  the  small  tables.  From  the  walls  the  Madonna  in  tender  grace, 
Una  in  her  innocence  and  purity,  Psyche  with  her  mystic  casket, 
the  Roman  with  his  Sabine  captive,  Spring  with  "her  lap  crowned 
with  roses,"  looked  down  upon  the  animated  groups;  while  the 
glittering  chandelier  shed  its  luster  over  crimson  hangings,  snowy 
marbles,  bright  flowers,  and  the  fair  heads  of  the  young  girls  in  holiday 
attire. 

Doctor  Corbett  speaks  pleasantly  of  St.  Mary's  School,  in  his 
parish  paper: 

"Humanly  judging,  this  institution  was  never  so  promising  as  today. 
Every  room  is  occupied.  It  has  a  staff  of  teachers  second  to  none ;  a  building 
(soon  to  be  doubled  in  size)  that  concenters  within  itself  a  school  and  a  home. 
At  St.  Mary's  not  only  is  the  mind  tutored,  but  the  heart  also — nothing 
brusque  can  have  a  habitation  there.  Culture  of  manners  as  well  as  culture 
of  mind  is  demanded  at  St.  Mary's.  Work,  hard  work,  is  demanded  of  all 

55 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

the  pupils,  to  enable  them  to  accomplish  their  life  mission,  and  play,  hard 
play,  is  also  enjoined  for  their  physical  development.  Our  Diocese  may 
rejoice  in  the  school  she  now  has  at  Knoxville.  She  may  rejoice  yet  more 
for  what  there  is  in  store  for  her." 

THE  CROSS 
By  Clara  J.  Wilson,  '70 

DIM  with  the  mist  of  penitential  tears, 
Hallowed  by  all  the  pilgrim's  hopes  and  fears, 
Stained  with  the  sacred  blood,  to  us  appears 
The  Saviour's  Cross. 

Shrouded  in  gloom  beneath  a  darkened  heaven, 
Trembling  with  sighs  from  Christ's  own  heart-strings  riven, 
What  mighty  love  and  grief  on  Thee  have  striven, 
O  Cruel  Cross! 

Thus  have  we  knelt  on  Friday's  noon  of  anguish, 
Lowly  beneath  the  Cross  where  Thou  didst  languish, 
Thus  have  we  learned,  with  Thee,  all  woe  to  vanquish, 
And  pain,  and  loss. 

Glowing  with  roses  in  their  sacred  thorn, 
Silvered  with  lilies  'neath  the  Day-Star  born, 
Purpled  with  pansies,  on  the  Easter  morn, 
We  see  the  Cross. 

Vision  of  triumph  in  the  strife  for  right! 
Symbol  of  victory  to  the  ancient  Knight! 
Sight  by  which  martyrs  won  their  crowns  of  light! 
Hail,  Christian  Cross! 

To  find  the  gold,  we  separate  the  dross; 
There  is  no  gain  unless  there  first  be  loss ; 
To  win  the  crown,  on  earth  we  bear  the  Cross, 
The  Saviour's  Cross. 


56 


CHAPTER  V 

EN  thousand  dollars!" 

Mr.  Knox  was  a  man  of  few  words,  but 
even  with  three  words  he  almost  took  my 
breath  away. 

I  had  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  cared  especially 
for  me  or  for  St.  Mary's ;  like  some  other  public  minded 
citizens  he  had  contributed  to  payment  of  the  old  debt, 
but  I  had  no  expectation  of  a  large  gift  from  him  or 
from  any  one  at  any  time. 

It  was  in  the  old  bank,  in  the  same  little  back  room 
where  Mr.  Runkle  had  advised  me  "not  to  go  so  far 
from  home  when  you  need  help,"  that  Mr.  Knox  quietly 
said  to  me  that  he  was  ready  to  give  $10,000  for  the  en- 
largement of  St.  Mary's.  Too  good  to  be  true!  I  thought, 
and  was  on  the  point  of  asking  him  to  say  it  again, 
when  he  added:  "Provided  an  equal  amount  is  secured 
from  other  contributors."  But  this  did  not  dampen  my 
enthusiasm.  Surely,  there  will  be  a  prompt  response 
throughout  the  diocese  and  from  beyond.  Ten  thousand 
dollars!  This  was  equal  to  the  entire  income  of  the 
School  for  a  year.  The  thing  is  as  good  as  done!  The 
future  of  St.  Mary's  is  assured! 

That  was  a  happy  hour,  and  as  I  hurried  home  with 
the  great  news  I  walked  on  air,  as  the  saying  is, 

"While  Hope  enchanted  smiled 
And  waved  her  golden  hair." 

57 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

We  had  been  so  long  oppressed  by  debt  and  de- 
pressed by  anxiety  that  the  reaction  was  out  of  propor- 
tion to  the  amount  promised.  Indeed  as  the  event 
proved,  with  the  condition  appended  it  came  near  to 
being  nothing  at  all,  for  we  found  it  impossible  to  raise 
all  of  the  $10,000  required.  The  best  we  were  able  to 
do  was  only  about  $6,000;  from  local  subscriptions  and 
from  the  Diocese  of  Illinois,  one-half  from  each.  Confi- 
dent that  Mr.  Knox  would  pay  in  full,  even  if  we  in- 
curred a  debt,  we  began  the  work  in  the  early  spring  of 
1872,  and  Mr.  Knox  did  not  fail  us. 

In  all  our  thinking  and  planning  for  enlargement 
we  had  assumed  that  the  extension  should  be  similar  to 
the  old  building,  to  complete  the  original  design.  Mak- 
ing a  sketch  of  the  whole,  as  planned,  I  was  impressed 
with  the  extreme  ugliness  of  it.  The  old  building  was 
bad  enough;  to  repeat  its  repellant  features  would  be 
inexcusable.  I  cannot  recall  the  origin  of  the  plan  fi- 
nally adopted,  namely,  to  add  to  the  old  building  a  sec- 
tion larger  and  higher,  for  the  center  of  a  new  design, 
to  be  completed  later  by  another  extension ;  and  to  put 
a  mansard  roof  over  all.  This,  as  shown  in  the  engrav- 
ing, gave  us  a  dignified  edifice,  well  proportioned  as  it 
stood,  even  without  another  extension  on  the  east,  which 
we  hoped  would  come  later. 

OTHER  interesting  events  of  this  eventful  year 
(1871-72)  were  the  visitation  of  the  Bishop  for 
Confirmation,  in  March;  "breaking  ground"  for  the 
new  building;  installation  of  the  new  organ  in  the  Study 
Hall,  and  laying  of  the  corner-stone.  For  the  account 
of  these  we  turn  to  The  Palladium;  but  the  issue  con- 
taining report  of  the  corner-stone  is  missing  from  the 
file,  and  we  can  only  recall  that  Bishop  Whitehouse 

58 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

presided  and  made  a  most  earnest  and  eloquent  address. 
This  service  took  the  place  of  the  graduating  ceremony 
in  June.  The  course  of  study  having  been  extended  in 
1872,  there  was  no  graduate  to  receive  the  Cross  of 
Honor.  Fortunately,  we  are  able  to  give  Miss  Hitch- 
cock's beautiful  hymn  that  was  sung  at  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone. 

Lacking  also  are  details  of  the  purchase  and  plac- 
ing of  a  real  organ  in  the  Study  Hall.  I  cannot  imagine 
how,  in  our  poverty,  we  did  it.  I  am  sure  we  had  little 
help  from  outside  the  School.  It  was  a  complete  pipe 
organ,  with  several  "stops,"  pedal  bass,  polychrome 
front,  and  (is  it  possible?)  cost  only  twelve  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars!  It  would  be  cheap  now  at  three  or 
four  times  the  price.  Pilcher  and  Sons,  of  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  were  the  builders,  and  doubtless  they  made 
a  generous  discount.  The  same  firm  afterwards  built 
the  larger  organ  for  the  Chapel,  and  one  of  the  "Sons" 
married  our  first  organist,  Julia  Derby,  Class  of  '81. 
The  beautiful  window  opposite  the  organ  is  a  memorial 
of  her,  placed  there  by  her  bereaved  husband.  After 
four  years  of  accompaniments  at  Matins  and  Evensong 
by  a  rather  infirm  cabinet  organ,  it  may  be  imagined 
that  we  found  the  Pilcher  organ  "a  thing  of  beauty 
and  a  joy  forever." 

MENTION  of  the  organ  reminds  me  of  "Blind 
Charles,"  for  many  years  our  faithful  organ 
blower.  We  found  him  at  the  county  Aims-House,  or 
rather  he  found  us  at  the  parish  church,  where  on  Sun- 
days he  made  his  way  unaided  from  the  poorhouse, 
and  guided  a  blind  companion.  We  arranged  for  him 
to  spend  an  hour  or  two  every  day  at  St.  Mary's,  and 
the  girls  "took  turns"  in  reading  to  him.  After  the  en- 

59 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

largement  of  the  building  I  gave  him  a  room,  and  St. 
Mary's  was  his  home  for  nearly  half  a  century.  Beside 
his  service  at  the  organ,  he  helped  a  little  in  the  laun- 
dry, carried  the  mail  in  fair  weather,  and  sawed  a  few 
sticks  of  wood  now  and  then.  It  pleased  him  to  think 
he  was  "paying  his  way,"  and  we  were  amply  rewarded 
in  the  opportunity  of  lightening  the  darkness  of  one 
poor  soul.  He  had  a  dread  of  being  buried  in  the  "pot- 
ter's field"  with  paupers,  and  was  comforted  by  my 
promise  that  his  grave  should  be  made  in  my  cemetery 
lot  where  my  mother  and  children  were  buried.  There, 
on  his  head-stone  you  may  read  his  name,  Charles  Fow- 
ler. May  he  rest  in  peace! 

THE  fifth  year,  1872-73,  was  a  year  of  glorious  rec- 
ord. During  the  summer  vacation  the  work  on  the 
new  building,  with  its  high  mansard  roof  and  its  higher 
belfry  tower,  went  on  merrily  and  mightily,  "while  the 
lamp  held  out  to  burn,"  that  is,  while  there  was  money 
in  the  building  fund.  About  midsummer  the  crisis  came, 
as  I  expected.  Local  and  diocesan  contributions  came 
slowly,  and  payments  from  the  Knox  fund  were  avail- 
able only  to  the  amount  of  other  contributions.  Mr. 
Knox  was  in  Europe,  and  Mr.  Runkle  held  the  purse. 
By  frequent  letters  I  kept  Mr.  Knox  interested,  inform- 
ing him  of  the  fine  progress  of  the  building  and  the 
poor  progress  of  the  collections.  He  expressed  disap- 
pointment in  the  lack  of  generous  response  to  the  ap- 
peals of  our  Bishop  and  Convention.  "Instead  of  single 
bricks,"  he  said,  "your  people  ought  to  send  you  wagon 
loads." 

From  time  to  time  I  sent  him  photographs  of  the 
rising  edifice,  and  sketches  showing  its  stately  propor- 
tions, as  completed.  I  told  him  frankly  that  suspension 

60 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

of  building  operations  in  the  near  future  seemed  inevi- 
table, unless  I  could  go  out  and  make  a  personal  canvas 
for  funds  among  our  Church  people.  I  carefully  re- 
frained from  asking  him  to  change  the  terms  of  his  own 
subscription.  I  was  confident  that  he  would,  and  he  did! 
He  wrote  to  Mr.  Runkle  to  let  me  have  the  entire 
amount  as  soon  as  needed. 

With  this  and  other  contributions  we  had  the  build- 
ing enclosed  by  the  re-opening  of  School  in  September, 


THE  BUILDING  REMODELED  AND  ENLARGED    (1873) 
The  Home  of  the  School  for  ten  years. 

and  soon  thereafter  the  gilded  cross  was  raised  on  the 
pinnacle  of  the  high  bell  tower,  while  the  school  and 
guests,  assembled  on  the  lawn,  sang  the  Gloria  in  Ex- 
celsis.  There  was  room  for  only  two  to  stand  and  work 
on  the  small  platform  in  mid-air,  and  I  was  allowed  to 
share  with  the  foreman  the  honor  (and  the  danger)  of 
crowning  the  new  St.  Mary's  and  "signing  it  with  the 
sign  of  the  Cross." 

The  building  was  finished  and  opened  in  January, 
and  several  rooms  were  occupied  by  new  students.  The 
cost  exceeded  the  estimate,  and  we  had  to  meet  a  large 
deficit,  borrowing  the  money.  With  a  large  and  beauti- 

61 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

ful  school  property  and  an  adequate  income,  a  few  thou- 
sand dollars  of  debt  did  not  appal  us.  The  debt  was 
afterwards  paid  from  the  legacy  of  Mr.  Knox. 

The  fifth  Anniversary,  in  Easter  week,  1873,  was 
the  climax  of  rejoicing,  as  the  year  had  been  the  acme 
of  achievement.  At  last,  after  five  years  of  anxious  work 
and  waiting,  of  hope  deferred  and  eager  expectation 
baffled,  St.  Mary's  School  was  established.  Te  Deum 
laudamus!  "This  shall  be  my  rest  forever;  here  will 
I  dwell,  for  I  have  a  delight  therein."  Of  course,  this 
could  not  be  "my  rest,"  but  it  was  a  blessed  relief.  In 
comparison  with  what  we  had  done  and  endured,  the 
work  of  the  future  would  be  easy,  its  burdens  would  be 
light.  It  is  well  that  we  do  not  know  what  the  future 
will  bring  forth. 

The  Anniversary  service  was  held  in  the  parish 
church;  Bishop  Whitehouse  made  the  address,  comfort- 
ing and  cheering  all  hearts.  Luncheon  was  served  at 
mid-day  in  the  Study  Hall,  and  responses  to  the  toasts 
were  received  with  enthusiasm.  "The  Fifth  Anniver- 
sary, the  Bishop's  Holiday,"  called  out  a  felicitous  re- 
sponse from  Bishop  Whitehouse;  "Education  in  the 
Church,"  response  by  Dr.  Chase;  "St.  Mary's  School," 
response  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Allen,  rector  of  Grace 
Church,  Galesburg;  "The  New  Building,"  by  Dr. 
Cushman  of  Chicago. 

The  school  building  was  illuminated  in  the  evening. 
From  basement  to  tower  gleamed  rows  of  lights,  re- 
vealing the  fair  proportions  of  the  building,  and  fur- 
nishing a  delightful  surprise  to  the  school,  returning 
from  the  anniversary  exercises  in  the  parish  church.  It 
was  indeed  a  fit  occasion  for  such  an  expression  of  joy; 
for  in  looking  back  over  the  past,  none  could  fail  to 
realize  what  five  years  had  done  for  St.  Mary's,  toward 

62 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

the  establishment  of  a  school  for  the  Church  that  shall 
shine  out  in  a  troubled  world,  as  cheerily  as  gleamed 
the  lights  from  the  many  windows  through  the  rain- 
drops of  that  anniversary  night. 

The  year  closed  with  the  graduation  of  a  class  of 
one,  Alice  Winter.  Though  there  was  no  competition 
for  valedictory  honors,  Miss  Winter  quite  deserved 
them.  Of  the  four  daughters  of  her  family  who  were 
students  at  St.  Mary's,  three  graduated  in  the  full 
course. 

OUR  FOURTH  ANNIVERSARY  DAY 

Breaking    Ground  for   the   New   Building 
T.  MARY'S  fourth  Anniversary  (1872)  was  one  of  those  bright 


s 


and  beautiful  days,  when  "awakening  nature  gives  her  glad 
salute,"  and  birds  come  from  their  winter  homes,  to  woo  the  spring. 
Never  had  the  sun  shone  fairer  for  a  holiday. 

Our  first  round  of  merriment  over,  we  assembled  in  the  spacious 
hall  to  welcome  our  revered  and  beloved  guest,  the  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese.  As  he  passed  down  between  the  lines  of  smiling  faces,  he 
compared  them  to  Easter  flowers,  "bright,  loving  flowers,  with  no 
pale  callas  among  them." 

After  pleasant  words  of  recognition  we  were  summoned  to  the 
important  ceremony  of  the  day,  the  breaking  of  ground  for  the 
foundation  of  the  new  building.  As  we  marched  to  the  place  of  action, 
the  air  resounded  with  the  hearty  song  of  the  choristers.  After 
appropriate  prayers,  and  the  saying  of  the  Creed,  Bishop  Whitehouse 
turned  the  first  sod.  A  vigorous  attempt  was  then  made  by  our 
Rector,  and  then  followed  a  trial  from  Miss  Hitchcock.  Not,  per- 
haps, so  skillfully  did  she  handle  the  spade  as  she  does  the  pen,  but 
the  result  was  a  success.  Ground  breaking  was  continued  by  our 
guests,  Dr.  Cushman  of  Princeton,  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  old 
building,  Rev.  Mr.  Vail  of  Knoxville.  Then  came  the  elder  scholars 
to  have  a  part  in  the  work,  and  after  them,  the  younger  ones.  The 
hearty  cheers  that  announced  the  final  spadeful  will  echo  for  many 
a  year  in  the  memories  of  that  merry  throng. 

Soon  another  important  ceremony  was  announced,  and  we  re- 
paired to  the  dining  hall  to  partake  of  a  bounteous  feast,  provided 

63 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

by  our  kind  hostess.  A  pleasant  feature  of  this  was  the  birthday  cake, 
adorned  with  flowers,  and  lighted  with  four  tapers.  It  was  brought 
into  the  room  by  the  two  youngest  scholars. 

In  the  evening  we  gathered  for  the  anniversary  service  at  the 
church.  The  address  was  delivered  by  the  Bishop.  His  subject  was 
Christian  Education,  the  training  of  girls  so  that  they  might  become 
kind,  loving,  and  helpful  women. 

Let  us  hope  that  the  Bishop's  words,  so  full  of  beauty  and  truth, 
may  be  re-echoed  in  the  lives  of  us,  the  world's  future  women. 

Florence  Eustace. 

IN  CHICAGO  AFTER  THE  FIRE 

Correspondence  of  The  Palladium 

SO  much  building  has  been  done,  and  there  is  so  much  life  and 
activity,  that  there  was  not  the  utter  desolation  I  had  expected; 
and  I  have  wondered  less  at  the  ruin  wrought  by  the  flames,  than 
at  the  amazing  energy  which  even  the  bitter  cold  of  winter  cannot 
repress. 

Far  up  Wabash  Avenue  extends  the  tide  of  traffic.  In  many  a 
handsome  residence,  the  lace  curtains  of  the  drawing  room  appear 
on  one  side  of  the  entrance,  and  on  the  other  all  the  insignia  of  trade 
and  business.  At  Griggs'  I  found  as  superb  books  as  ever,  though 
they  were  piled  on  the  marble  mantels  of  a  private  residence;  and 
on  the  newly  whitewashed  walls  of  the  railroad  warehouse,  now 
occupied  by  Field  &  Leiter,  as  elegant  silks  are  festooned  as  they 
formerly  displayed  in  their  magnificent  emporium  on  State  Street. 

It  is  an  odd  sight  to  see  the  names  of  firms,  once  familiar  on 
stately  blocks,  now  adorning  the  fronts  of  shanties.  I  was  much 
interested  in  the  ruins  of  the  great  wholesale  Iron  warehouses,  from 
the  cellars  of  which  workmen  were  removing  the  metal.  Great  masses 
of  nails  and  tacks  fused  together  were  piled  on  the  sidewalks;  huge 
iron  chains,  coiled  as  the  fire  found  them,  but  now  immobile  masses; 
implements  of  all  kinds  fused  together,  and  almost  shapeless,  were 
brought  out,  and  packed  for  transportation  to  the  foundry.  The 
relic  stands  are  the  oddest  of  all  Old  Curiosity  Shops,  and  I  lingered 
long  over  the  strange  medley  there  presented.  I  purchased  a  few 
relics,  and  ere  long  they  will  adorn  the  cabinet  of  St.  Mary's. 


64 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
PYR(E)OTECHNICS! 

THE  family  at  St.  Mary's  had  assembled,  when  at  a  signal  from 
some  wily  conspirators,  the  lights  were  turned  down,  and  a 
small  but  extraordinary  torch-light  procession  appeared  in  view. 
The  figures  were  masked,  and  came  forward  with  solemn  and  stately 
mien.  Upon  the  forehead  of  one  was  written  the  mystic  word 
"Passed!"  another  was  ornamented  with  "One  Hundred  Per  Cent!" 
still  another  mask  bore  upon  one  of  its  amiable  cheeks  the  word, 
"Fractions,"  and  upon  the  other,  "Analysis."  Each  masker  carried 
a  slate  and  a  book;  upon  the  latter  was  fastened  a  lighted  taper. 
Slowly  they  passed  through  the  hall,  library,  and  drawing-room, 
singing  to  the  tune  of  Auld  Lang  Syne  a  chorus,  of  which  we  caught 
only  the  last  lines; 

"We  know  that  Analysis  came  behind, 
And  Fractions  went  before." 

Then  and  there,  did  it  dawn  upon  us  that  this  was  a  funeral 
solemnity,  that  these  maskers  were  the  very  fortunate  students  who 
had  that  day  passed  a  successful  examination  and  had  finished  arith- 
metic. 

The  procession,  followed  by  the  eager  and  amused  spectators, 
descended  the  stairs  leading  to  the  furnaces;  and  still,  as  they  went, 
arose  the  weird  strain, 

"We  know  that  Analysis  came  behind, 
And  Fractions  went  before." 

Arrived  at  the  furnace-room,  they  halted,  and  one  of  their  number 
stepped  forth  from  the  ranks,  and  read  the  following  poem,  evidently 
written  for  the  occasion: 

AFTER  EXAMINATION 

THE  dreaded  day  has  come  and  gone 
Of  our  examination. 
A  day  we've  passed  with  trembling  hearts, 
And  unco'  perturbation. 

And  as  we  sat  the  table  round, 

Our  fears  and  hesitation 
Did  make  each  face  look  sad  indeed, 

At  our  examination. 

65 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

"Oh  shall  we  ever,  ever  pass?" 

We  thought  in  tribulation. 
"Or  shall  we  naught  but  sadness  draw, 

From  this  examination?" 

At  length  'twas  o'er,  but  not  yet  o'er 

Our  nervous  agitation: 
While  all  the  girls  would  smile  and  ask 

"How  goes  examination?" 

Our  fate  was  known  at  close  of  school, 

And  to  our  great  elation, 
We  heard  the  welcome,  welcome  words, 

"You've  passed  examination!" 

Oh  happy  moments!  happy  girls! 

Freed  from  our  tribulation, 
We  knew  Arithmetic  was  o'er, 

And  our  examination. 

This  evening  we  at  once  resolved 

To  have  a  celebration; 
For  we  were  glad  as  glad  could  be, 

At  our  examination. 

The  furnace  door  stands  open  wide, 

And  now,  with  exultation, 
We'll  burn  the  book  that  led  us  on 

To  that  examination! 

Our  slates  we'll  break,  our  pencils  too. 

'Mid  girlish  approbation, 
We'll  cry  aloud,  Hurrah!  Hurrah! 

We've  passed  examination! 

The  poem  was  received  with  a  burst  of  applause  that  was  quickly 
checked,  as  not  being  in  accordance  with  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion ! 
And  the  speaker  of  the  evening  then  stepped  forth  with  her  manu- 
script and  began  an  eloquent  oration.  The  impassioned  energy  of 
voice  and  gesture  were  in  absurd  contrast  with  the  utter  lack  of 
expression  in  the  features  of  her  mask;  and  her  articulation,  impeded 
by  the  exceedingly  small  aperture  that  served  for  a  mouth,  made 
us  think  of  Demosthenes  practising  with  his  pebbles.  Some  other 
parallels  might  be  drawn  between  these  two  orators ;  but  we  forbear. 

Suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  and  the  word  to  the  action,  the 

66 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

orator  seized  her  Arithmetic,  and  was  the  first  to  consign  her  property 
to  the  flames.  Others  pressed  forward  to  follow  her  example;  and 
again  arose  the  refrain, 

"We  know  that  Analysis  came  behind, 
And  Fractions  went  before." 

Slates  were  broken  into  fragments,  and  became  themselves  most 
bewilderingly  complicated  examples  of  fractured  fractions. 

We  turned  from  the  scene,  lost  in  admiration  of  the  talents  of 
these  youthful  aspirants  after  knowledge.  What  may  we  not  expect 
in  their  future  career  when  they  thus  ingeniously  celebrate  the 
passage  of  their  first  milestone  in  the  thorny  road  of  Mathematics? 
When  they  shall  finish  Trigonometry,  may  we  be  there  to  see! 

HOW  MR.  KNOX  STUDIED  FRENCH 

To  the  Editor  of  The  Palladium: 

YOU  do  me  honor  over  much  in  supposing  that  I  am  an  adept  in 
German  and  French.  Well,  as  to  French,  permit  me  to  explain  to 
you  under  what  difficulties  I  pursued  the  study  of  the  court  language 
of  Europe. 

In  the  last  six  weeks  of  the  senior  class  at  Yale,  the  students  had 
the  choice  of  several  branches  outside  the  regular  course.  The  result 
was,  that  the  class  of  seventy-five  members  was  broken  into  frag- 
ments; the  largest  section,  say  thirty-five,  of  which  I  was  one, 
preferred  French,  while  the  smallest  was  made  up  entirely  of  a 
waggish  fellow,  by  no  means  biblically  inclined,  but  who,  just  for 
the  fun  of  the  thing,  selected  Hebrew. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  French  class,  the  teacher  greeted 
his  pupils  with  a  genuine  French  bow,  took  out  of  his  pocket  a  paper 
box  containing,  upon  separate  bits  of  paper,  the  names  of  his  scholars. 
Shaking  up  the  tickets,  he  commenced  to  draw  them  out  singly. 
Fortune  favored  my  thirst  for  French.  My  name  was  the  third 
drawn.  After  looking  at  it  for  a  time  he  called  out,  "Ke-nox" ! 
A  titter  ran  around  the  room,  to  the  evident  annoyance  of  the 
Professor.  On  the  following  day  the  terrible  name  again  made  its 
appearance.  Setting  his  teeth  fast  together,  the  poor  Frenchman  with 
great  effort  brought  out  "Ke-ken-nokes."  This  was  too  much  for 
the  risibilities  of  my  fellow  students,  and  they  laughed  right  out 
in  school.  For  several  successive  days  I  was  punctual  in  my  attendance 

67 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

but  I  was  not  again  called  upon  to  recite,  although  now  and  then 
a  ticket  was  slyly  shoved  under  the  box,  because,  as  I  suspected, 
the  name  Knox  was  written  upon  it. 

During  the  remaining  five  weeks,  I  turned  my  attention  to  the 
reading  of  Blackstone  and  other  more  interesting  authors.  What  I 
know  of  French  was  learned  in  the  lessons  above  described.  But  for 
the  consonant  K,  I  might  have  been  an  apt  scholar,  and  would  now  be 
writing  to  you  in  French. 

Please  permit  me  to  propose  as  a  proper  present  to  the  alliterative 
author  of  the  "Peculiar  Pan  of  Peas,"  in  a  previous  paper,  a  pair  of 
pea-pods  as  pendants  for  her  ears.  I  presume  she  is  a  relative  of  the 
writer  of  that  savoury  couplet: 

"Peas  porridge  hot,  peas  porridge  cold, 
Peas  porridge  in  the  pot,  nine  days  old." 

If  the  young  lady  minds  her  Q's  as  well  as  she  does  her  P's,  she 
deserves  a  third  pendant,  to-wit,  that  in  which  the  heathen  Chinee 
rejoiceth.  What  think  you  of  these  P-Q-liar  ornaments? 

J.  Knox. 

WINTER 

FAR  to  the  southern  prairies 
Summer  has  passed  away, 
Spring  in  her  youthful  beauty, 

And  the  glorious  Autumn  day; 
And  now  from  the  polar  regions, 

The  regions  of  ice  and  cold, 
Over  the  hills  and  valleys 
Cometh  the  Winter  bold. 

Spanning  with  ice  the  rivers, 

Dressing  the  trees  with  white, 
Filling  with  snow  the  valleys, 

Treading  with  footsteps  light ; 
Down  from  the  northern  mountains, 

Over  the  plains  below, 
Cometh  the  merry  Winter 

In  mantle  of  spotless  snow. 

In  glittering  pomp  attended 

By  goblins  and  elves  and  fays 
Who  cover  the  trees  with  jewels 

That  gleam  in  the  sun's  bright  rays ; 

68 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Bringing  us  fun  and  frolic, 

And  glee  for  the  young  and  old, 
Bright  from  his  home  in  the  Northland, 

Cometh  the  Winter  bold. 

Bringing  us  holy  Advent, 

And  joyous  Christmas-tide, 
And  many  a  time  of  gladness 

As  the  bright  days  onward  glide  ; 
Bringing  us  Happy  New  Year, 

Bringing  us  mirth  and  glee, — 
Brightest  and  best  of  the  seasons, 

And  fairest,  is  Winter  to  me. 

— Florence  Dukes. 


THE  new  pipe  organ  just  placed  in  the  school-room  at  St.  Mary's 
furnished  the  occasion  of  a  very  agreeable  musical  entertainment. 
Professor  Pfeiffer  of  Quincy  presided  at  the  organ,  and  by  his 
skillful  playing  brought  out  the  capabilities  of  the  sweet-toned  instru- 
ment. The  organ  (from  the  manufactory  of  Pilcher  Brothers)  is 
of  a  power  and  size  well  adapted  to  the  spacious  room  in  which  it 
is  placed.  The  exterior  is  of  walnut  and  ash,  the  front  finished  in 
polychrome.  Besides  its  especial  use  in  discoursing  sweet  music,  the 
instrument  serves  as  an  ornament  to  the  already  attractive  Study 
Hall.  — Galesburg  Republican. 

THE  long-looked-for  Holidays  are  over.  We,  who  have  spent 
this  Christmas  Tide  and  watched  the  coming  of  the  New  Year 
with  so  much  happiness,  are  gathered  once  more  into  St.  Mary's 
sheltering  fold.  Again  we  join  in  the  beautiful  morning  service  of 
the  Church,  and  the  strains  of  the  grand  Te  Deum  rise  from  the 
many  voices.  Again  we  sing  our  Evensong,  and  kneeling  together, 
with  bowed  heads,  say  those  beautiful  words,  "Lighten  our  darkness ;" 
and  once  more  all  are  working  with  renewed  efforts,  and  glad  hearts, 
strengthened  by  the  holy  influences  of  this  blessed  season.  The 
delightful  Friday  evening  readings  are  resumed,  and  as  we  listen 
to  the  voice  of  our  Rector,  we  are  entranced  by  the  wondrous  beauties 
of  English  literature,  thus  unfolded  to  us. 

As  this  last  Christmas  has  brought  us  so  much  happiness,  and 
the  year  just  begun  has  ushered  in  so  many  joyous  things,  let  us 
hope  that  ere  it  shall  have  passed,  we  may  see  St.  Mary's  doubled 

69 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

in  size,  and  many  more  happy  faces  watching  the  growth  of  our 
beloved  School,  no  longer  in  its  infancy,  but  fulfilling  the  dearest 
hopes  of  all  who  are  concerned  for  its  welfare. 

MR.  Lowber  Burrows,  of  Decatur,  visited  St.  Mary's  this 
spring,  bringing  with  him  a  number  of  ivy  plants,  which  he 
set  out  with  his  own  hands,  for  the  adornment  of  the  building.  The 
act  was  a  very  graceful  one,  and  is  thoroughly  appreciated.  He  made 
some  jocular  remarks  about  the  pleasure  he  should  take  in  seeing 
St.  Mary's  covered  with  his  ivies  when  he  should  come  to  bring 
his  grandchildren.  It  is  to  be  hoped  he  will  visit  St.  Mary's  many 
times  before  that  very  distant  day,  not  only  to  see  how  his  ivies 
grow,  but  to  talk  over  with  the  other  members  of  the  Octagon 
Club,  their  adventures  last  summer  among  the  ivy-crowned  castles 
of  the  Old  World. 

MR.  Knox  has  been  doing  again  what  he  always  does  so  well 
every  time  he  does  it  (and  that  is  very  often),  viz.,  he  has 
been  giving  St.  Mary's  School  something.  This  time  it  is  a  fine 
collection  of  books  for  its  library,  whereat  the  St.  Mary's  girls 
went  into  a  very  justifiable  ecstacy,  and  gave  him  "three  cheers." 
Verily  he  is  a  cheer-full  man. 


STUDY  HALL  (1873) 
70 


CHAPTER  VI 

URING  the  several  strenuous  years  that  fol- 
lowed the  almost  desperate  vacational  ad- 
venture in  the  summer  of  1869,  my  wife  and 
I  had  only  brief  snatches  of  summer  rest.  We 
were  again  (June,  1873)  at  tne  point  of  exhaustion  from 
overwork  and  excitement  which  the  great  enterprise  of 
the  year  had  brought.  So,  early  in  July,  with  big  and 
bold  courage,  on  a  thousand  dollars  allowance  for  the 
two  of  us,  we  started  for  Europe. 

An  account  of  our  wanderings  "abroad"  might  be 
interesting,  but  would  not  belong  to  the  "Story."  We 
went  too  far  and  worked  too  hard  to  find  it  very  restful. 
But  the  complete  change,  on  sea  and  land,  and  the 
healthful  activity  of  body  and  mind  in  sight  seeing, 
were  more  restful  than  idleness;  a  better  preparation 
for  the  new  campaign  than  a  summer  of  amusement  at 
some  "resort."  A  sea  voyage,  undisturbed  by  storms,  is 
the  best  "balm  of  hurt  minds"  and  tired  nature.  But  we 
had  more  than  enough  of  it.  Owing  to  a  crippled  en- 
gine, on  our  return  we  were  two  full  weeks  at  sea :  this 
made  us  a  week  late  in  resuming  our  work  at  St.  Mary's, 
and  Miss  Francis,  who  was  "holding  the  fort,"  was  al- 
most in  a  state  of  collapse  from  anxiety.  Students  were 
arriving  by  the  same  train  that  brought  us  to  Knoxville. 
What  a  blessing  would  have  been  a  wireless  message, 
when  we  were  a  week  late  at  sea,  to  inform  our  friends 
that  we  were  safe  and  comfortable ! 

71 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

In  our  party,  that  summer,  were  Miss  Hitchcock 
and  Mr.  Lowber  Burrows  and  his  daughter  Ida,  of 
Decatur,  Illinois.  Their  companionship  brightened  and 
cheered  the  whole  summer.  Even  in  the  "rolling  forties" 
we  were  all  jolly,  and  hungry  four  or  five  times  a  day. 
Mr.  Burrows  was  rare  good  company,  at  home  or 
abroad,  wherever  found;  and  he  is  remembered  as  one 
of  the  most  helpful  patrons  of  St.  Mary's.  For  twelve 
years  he  held  one  and  the  same  room  in  the  school,  oc- 
cupied continuously  by  his  three  daughters,  in  turn, 
each  graduating  in  the  full  course.  It  was  Mr.  Burrows 
who  brought  from  his  home  and  planted  at  St.  Mary's 
the  ivies  that  still  decorate  her  outer  walls  and  keep 
his  memory  green. 

About  a  month  after  the  reopening  of  school,  our 
honored  friend  and  benefactor,  Mr.  Knox,  returned 
from  Europe,  and  we  contrived  that  he  should  have  a 
surprise  in  his  first  night  view  of  the  fine  building  his 
gift  had  enabled  us  to  raise  in  his  absence.  After  dark, 
in  every  window  of  the  wide  extended  south  front 
(which  included  both  the  old  and  the  new  building) 
lighted  candles  were  placed.  The  view  was  wonderful, 
the  building  being  greatly  magnified  in  appearance  by 
the  myriad  points  of  light,  set  like  stars  in  the  back- 
ground of  the  night. 


72 


Rt.  Rev.  Henry  John  Whitehouse,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  D.C.L. 

Second  Bishop  of  Illinois 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
LAST  VISIT  OF  BISHOP  WHITEHOUSE 

THIS  event  took  place  on  the  Feast  of  the  Annun- 
ciation, 1874.  The  Bishop  was  present  at  Morning 
Prayer,  and  afterwards  catechised  the  school.  Now  it 
is  a  grand  thing  to  hear  St.  Mary's  School  say  the  Cate- 
chism; and  each  scholar,  from  the  smallest  Primary  to 
the  tallest  Senior,  takes  pride  in  its  being  said  well,  in 
the  clear  ringing  out  of  its  noble,  rhythmic  English. 
There  was  much  delight,  therefore,  and  we  detected 
many  a  little  nod  of  satisfaction,  when  the  Bishop  said 
he  did  not  see  how  it  could  be  done  better. 

The  teachings  of  the  Church  on  the  Annunciation 
suggested  to  the  Bishop  the  subject  of  a  short  address, 
good  and  delightful  as  were  all  his  talks  to  his  girls  at 
St.  Mary's;  and  he  made  a  most  happy  and  telling  con- 
clusion, by  turning  to  the  Rector  and  asking  a  half  holi- 
day for  the  School.  Ah!  if  girls  cannot  "throw  up  their 
hats,"  they  can  clap  their  hands! 

At  evening  service,  Confirmation  was  administered 
to  eighteen  of  the  beloved  children.  It  was  a  sight  beau- 
tiful in  its  simplicity,  as  these  young  girls,  dressed  in 
white,  "beckoned  by  pastoral  hands,"  stood  at  the  chan- 
cel. God  keep  their  hearts  as  pure  as  the  lilies  of  the  An- 
nunciation, that  hereafter  they  may  dwell  with  the 
white-robed  throng! 

THE  reopening  in  September,  1874,  tne  beginning 
of  the  seventh  year,  was  sad  with  symbols  of  mourn- 
ing. In  the  study  hall  the  lectern,  desk,  and  organ  were 
draped  with  black  and  violet,  decorated  with  white 
flowers. 

The  report  of  the  death  of  Bishop  Whitehouse  had 
gone  out  over  the  world,  the  month  before.  We  all  knew 

73 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

of  it,  and  these  signs  of  bereavement,  in  our  school  home, 
when  we  met  there  after  the  long  separation,  were  very 
impressive.  We  did  not  need  to  read  published  accounts 
and  tributes  and  estimates  of  our  great  Bishop,  to  real- 
ize our  loss.  For  us  his  goodness  and  greatness  were 
measured  by  his  loving  service  to  St.  Mary's.  To  his 
sympathetic  ministrations  and  encouragement  she  owed 
much  of  the  joy  and  health  of  her  childhood.  It  was 
during  her  years  of  greatest  need  that  he  was  spared  to 
us. 

Looking  back  to  that  period  we  realize  how  helpful 
was  his  approval  and  cooperation.  It  was  far  more  than 
a  formal  sanction  and  recognition  of  our  work.  Of 
course  his  official  endorsement  was  indispensable.  But 
his  relation  to  St.  Mary's  was  more  than  official.  It  was 
personal  and  affectionate,  and  he  gave  to  us  lavishly  of 
his  time  and  influence.  On  the  honor  roll  of  the  founders 
and  benefactors  of  St.  Mary's  School  is  inscribed  the 
name  of  Henry  John  Whitehouse,  Bishop  of  Illinois. 
May  the  Lord  recompense  him  with  the  riches  of  His 
everlasting  Kingdom! 

Of  the  many  published  tributes  to  the  personal  quali- 
ties and  official  career  of  Bishop  Whitehouse,  only  two 
can  be  given  here. 

By  the  Clergy  and  Laity  of  Illinois: 

"The  Bishop's  long  career  was  distinguished  by  ceaseless  activities 
in  the  Church,  which  he  served  earnestly  for  half  a  century.  As  a 
man,  his  purity  of  life  was  unsullied.  His  piety  was  sincere,  and  his 
character,  naturally  dignified,  was  chastened  and  enriched  by  Chris- 
tian discipline.  Firm  in  the  performance  of  what  he  deemed  the  high 
duties  of  his  office,  nothing  daunted  him.  Benevolent  in  spirit,  sim- 
ple in  his  habits,  and  cordial  in  his  friendships,  only  they  who  were 
nearest  him  could  appreciate  the  fine  flow  of  his  sensibilities  and  affec- 
tion. His  intellectual  gifts  were  brilliant  and  attractive.  The  elegan- 

74 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

cies  of  a  liberal  culture  adorned  the  treasures  of  his  learning.  Few 
men  had  at  command  the  resources  of  a  more  comprehensive  scholar- 
ship, or  a  presence  and  an  address  more  impressive.  As  a  preacher  he 
was  eloquent;  as  a  theologian  profound  and  discriminating;  as  a 
pastor  sympathetic;  and  as  a  Bishop  laborious,  conscientious,  and 
self-sacrificing.  His  enduring  portraiture  is  in  the  record  of  his 
ministry  and  his  episcopate,  to  whose  interests  his  tireless  energies 
and  great  abilities  were  supremely  consecrated.  But  his  zeal  consumed 
him.  He  fell  literally  at  his  post  with  his  armor  on.  Blessed  are  those 
servants  whom  the  Lord,  when  He  cometh,  shall  find  watching." 

From  the  Memorial  Sermon  by  Dr.  Locke: 

"We  know  the  record  of  Henry  John  Whitehouse,  his  purity, 
his  constancy,  his  life  in  Christ.  Christians  of  all  denominations,  and 
the  secular  press  of  the  country,  as  well  as  all  religious  papers,  were 
unqualified  in  their  expressions  of  admiration.  His  wonderful  learning, 
his  insight  into  Holy  Scripture,  his  fervid  eloquence,  his  acuteness 
of  perception,  his  beautiful  humility,  his  untiring  industry,  his  digni- 
fied courtesy,  his  vast  comprehension,  his  unbounded  self-sacrifice, 
his  spotless  life,  his  simple  faith  in  Christ  Jesus  as  the  Saviour  of 
his  soul,  these  were  known  to  all." 

DURING  the  summer  of  1874  I  followed  what 
seemed  to  be  a  call  of  duty  to  edit  and  publish  the 
monthly  diocesan  paper  of  Illinois,  The  Diocese,  which 
for  some  years  had  been  conducted  in  Chicago.  The 
financial  risk  was  not  great,  and  the  advantage  to  St. 
Mary's  was  considerable,  but  for  all  that,  I  was  hardly 
justified  in  adding  this  to  my  burdens.  A  few  years  later, 
however,  The  Diocese  served  as  a  basis  for  the  establish- 
ment of  The  Living  Church,  a  national  Church  weekly, 
which  continued  under  my  management  for  over 
twenty  years. 

In  June,  1880,  after  The  Diocese  became  The  Liv- 
ing Church,  the  school  paper  came  to  light  again; 
"merged,  submerged,  and  emerged  I"  as  the  editor  re- 
marked. To  this  little  school  paper  and  its  successor, 

75 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

The  Quarterly,  we  are  indebted  for  the  greater  part  of 
this  Story.  I  find  already  an  "embarrassment  of  riches." 
There  is  so  much  of  interest,  it  is  difficult  to  decide  what 
to  leave  out;  on  the  other  hand,  events  from  year  to 
year  are  so  similar  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  repetition. 

In  those  days  of  our  orphanage  we  were  comforted 
by  the  visits  of  good  Bishop  Talbot  of  Indiana.  He  was 
with  us  all  of  Easter  Day,  1875,  an(i  confirmed  a  large 
class.  Never  before  had  a  Bishop  spent  Easter  with  us. 
This  and  other  visitations  of  Bishop  Talbot,  his  genial 
presence  and  eloquent  discourse,  were  greatly  enjoyed. 
He  had  work  enough,  in  his  great  diocese,  but  he  came 
over  to  St.  Mary's,  he  said,  to  rest.  While  we  had  no 
episcopal  father  he  would  be  our  step-father,  because 
he  "stepped  over  from  Indiana." 

Our  seventh  Anniversary  (1875)  was  a  day  ever  to 
be  remembered  for  the  distinguished  guests  who  par- 
ticipated in  the  celebration.  Dr.  DeKoven  gave  the 
address,  beautiful  and  inspiring.  The  after-dinner 
speeches  by  Drs.  DeKoven,  Locke,  and  Cushman  were 
unique  and  entertaining.  Dr.  Chase  gave  an  affectionate 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  Bishop  Whitehouse.  The  birth- 
day cake  was  cut  by  Miss  Wilson,  valedictorian  of  the 
first  class  (1870). 

NEAR  the  close  of  this  school  year  occurred  the 
serious  illness  of  the  Rector,  which  called  forth 
many  messages  of  sympathy  and  appreciation.  The  Dio- 
cese, in  its  issue  of  June,  1875,  most  kindly  referred  to 
the  illness  of  the  editor,  with  a  too  generous  estimate 
of  the  value  of  his  work,  as  follows: 

"Since  our  last  issue,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leffingwell,  the  rector  of 
St.  Mary's,  and  editor  of  this  paper,  has  been  alarmingly  ill.  He 
has  had,  all  his  life,  good  health,  and  was  never  seriously  ill  before, 

76 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

but  for  a  long  time,  he  has  been  worked  up  to  the  full  limit  of  his 
strength,  and  often  far  beyond,  so  that  he  had  but  little  reserve  force 
to  fall  back  upon;  and  when  he  was  taken  suddenly  and  alarmingly 
ill,  there  was  the  gravest  apprehension  among  his  friends,  as  to  the 
result.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  concern  and  sympathy  that 
pervaded  the  entire  community;  one  could  not  go  a  block  without 
meeting  anxious  inquiries,  and  letters  came  from  all  quarters  to  the 
same  intent.  It  was  everyone's  thought,  how  can  he  be  spared? 
The  fact  of  his  illness  has  brought  out  what  indeed  existed  before, 
but  was  not  so  fully  expressed,  the  strong  hold  that  he  has  upon 
all  who  know  the  man  and  his  work.  The  great  importance  and 
wide  reach  of  that  work  was  never  so  appreciated  as  when  there 
was  danger  that  it  might  be  forever  suspended." 

In  the  School  Department  of  the  same  issue,  thank- 
ful reference  was  made  to  the  Rector's  recovery : 

"To  the  Old  Scholars: 

"We  said  last  month  that  Anniversary  Week  of  this  year  was 
the  best  time  we  had  ever  had  at  St.  Mary's.  We  are  inclined  now 
to  think  that  Tuesday  in  Whitsun  week  was  even  better;  for  then 
the  Lord  turned  our  sorrow  into  joy.  The  Thanksgiving  for  the 
beginning  of  recovery  from  sickness  was  read,  the  first  intimation  to 
most  of  those  assembled  together,  that  they  might  really  hope  that 
the  beloved  Rector  of  St.  Mary's  School  was  out  of  danger.  You 
may  imagine  how  glad  were  the  voices  that  responded  Amen. 

"Dr.  Chase  (and  there  is  no  one  at  St.  Mary's  who  will  not 
always  love  him  for  it)  had  hastened  hither  upon  seeing  in  a  Peoria 
paper  the  distressing  news  of  Mr.  Leffingwell's  illness.  So  he  was 
present  to  conduct  Morning  Prayer  in  the  Rector's  stead;  and  we 
had  on  Whitsun  Tuesday  the  rejoicings  of  which  we  had  had  only  a 
part  on  the  great  day  of  the  feast." 

The  sermon  on  Baccalaureate  Sunday  was  preached 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stocking,  rector  of  the  Epiphany,  Chi- 
cago. The  text  was  the  motto  of  the  class,  "The  Truth 
shall  make  you  free."  Every  other  Baccalaureate  dur- 
ing the  half  century  was  preached  by  the  Rector,  taking 
the  class  motto  for  his  text. 

77 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

ON  our  return  from  church,  an  exciting  incident 
occurred,  which  was  reported  in  The  Diocese, 
as  follows : 

"Just  as  the  household  of  St.  Mary's  were  returning  from  Evening 
Prayer  on  Baccalaureate  Sunday,  an  alarm  of  fire  was  heard,  and 
smoke  was  seen  issuing  from  one  of  the  rooms  in  the  basement.  The 
fire  had  already  made  alarming  progress;  and  had  not  the  most 
vigorous  efforts  been  at  once  made,  or  had  not  the  rector  in  time 
of  peace  prepared  for  war,  the  beautiful  building  must  have  fallen 
prey  to  the  devouring  element.  An  axe  whose  place  of  concealment 
none  knew  but  the  rector  and  one  trusted  assistant,  the  two  under 
mutual  agreement  not  to  take  it  out  unless  for  fire,  was  in  use  at 
once,  hacking  away  floors  and  partitions;  and  by  the  time  the  hose 
could  be  extended  from  the  tank,  there  was  a  place  ready  through 
which  the  stream  of  water  could  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  fire  which 
was  already  creeping  up  under  the  beams  of  the  library  floor.  Fifteen 
minutes  more,  and  the  beautiful  room  would  have  been  ruined,  if 
indeed  the  house  itself  could  have  been  saved." 

At  the  graduation  of  the  seven,  the  Bishop  of  Indi- 
ana presided,  addressing  the  class  and  delivering  the 
diplomas.  The  Rector  was  devoutly  thankful  for  re- 
newed health  and  strength  to  participate  in  the  exer- 
cises, bestowing  the  Cross  of  Honor,  as  was  his  privilege 
during  his  entire  administration. 

As  soon  as  arrangements  could  be  made,  after  the 
close  of  the  school  term,  the  Rector  began  his  convales- 
cent rest  by  a  voyage  to  Europe,  returning  in  a  few 
weeks  with  health  and  hope  restored.  It  was  a  selfish 
vacation,  for  he  went  alone,  leaving  his  good  wife,  by 
her  own  insistence,  to  "carry  on"  at  home.  In  this,  as  in 
the  whole  course  of  our  strenuous  career,  by  her  unsel- 
fish devotion,  remarkable  executive  ability,  and  patient 
endurance,  she  deserved  all  the  praise  that  King  Lem- 
uel's mother  taught  him  to  prophesy  of  the  woman 
"whose  price  was  far  above  rubies."  "Her  children 

78 


Elizabeth  Francis  Leffingwell 

At  the  age  of  eighty-six,  on  November  sixth,  1926,  this  beloved  mother  of 
seven  children  entered  peacefully  into  rest.  She  had  served  forty  years  as  domestic 
manager  of  St.   Mary's  School. 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

arise  up  and  call  her  blessed;  her  husband  also,  and  he 
praiseth  her." 

APPRECIATIONS  BY  THE  TRUSTEES 

THE  Rector,  with  the  approbation  of  the  Bishop,  has  renewed 
his  engagement  for  a  term  of  ten  years. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  recently  held  in  Knox- 
ville,  the   following  resolution  was  offered  by  Mr.   Cephas  Arms, 
and  unanimously  adopted: 

"Resolved,  That  in  granting  the  request  of  Rev.  C.  W.  Leffingwell  for 
the  renewal  of  his  engagement  as  Rector  of  St.  Mary's  School,  the  Trustees 
would  take  this  occasion  to  express  to  him  their  appreciation  of  his  eminent 
success  in  bringing  St.  Mary's  to  its  high  position  as  a  young  ladies'  semi- 
nary •  and  that  while  the  school  grounds  have  been  growing  in  beauty,  and 
the  building  in  symmetry  and  grandeur,  under  his  energetic  management, 
the  institution  itself  has  been  growing  in  our  hearts  and  affections.  We 
most  heartily  and  earnestly  commend  it  to  our  own  people,  and  to  all  others 
who  have  daughters  to  educate,  as  an  institution  worthy  of  their  continued 
confidence  and  support. 

"Cephas  Arms, 
"Wm.  Hester, 
"S.  H.  Tompkins, 

Committee" 

The  Rev.  C.  W.  Leffingwell  offered  the  following  resolution, 
which  was  unanimously  adopted,  and  a  copy  ordered  to  be  sent  to 
Mr.  Knox: 

"Whereas,  The  recent  improvements  in  St.  Mary's  School,  and  its  in- 
creased facilities  for  education,  have  been  largely  the  result  of  the  generosity 
of  our  fellow-citizen,  the  Hon.  James  Knox,  who  has  lately  contributed  ten 
thousand  dollars  to  the  institution, 

"Resolved,  That  we  hereby  put  upon  the  records  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
this  expression  of  gratitude  for  his  noble  benefaction,  and  also  convey  to 
him,  by  this  resolution,  the  thanks  of  the  Board,  and  of  the  large  constitu- 
ency for  whom  we  speak,  and  to  whom  his  gift  has  been  and  shall  be  a 
blessing. 

"John  Babington,  Secretary." 


79 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
SNOW!    SLEIGHRIDE!!    GALESBURG!!! 

HAVE  I  told  the  whole  story  in  those  significant  words,  or  shall 
I,  nothing  loath,  begin  at  the  beginning  and  give  particulars? 
The  beginning  was  an  invitation  to  the  members  of  the  family,  given 
at  the  dinner  table  by  the  Rector,  to  take  a  sleighride  to  Galesburg 
that  evening. 

Go  with  me,  dear  reader,  in  sleigh  "number  one,"  with  a  dozen 
happy  school-girls,  laughing,  singing,  and  talking,  and  see  what 
you  shall  see.  Exult  with  us  in  the  discomfiture  of  sleigh  "number 
two,"  which  presumptuously  tries  to  be  "number  one,"  and  meets 
with  a  most  humiliating  defeat.  Enjoy  with  us  the  drive  around  Gales- 
burg, the  debarkment  at  the  hotel,  and  the  merry  taking  off  of 
"things" ;  and  then,  ascending  to  the  parlor,  let  us  find  a  comfortable 
seat  and  view  the  pleasant  scene.  Would  you  think  that  the  mischiev- 
ous-looking girl,  laughing  so  merrily  there,  a  few  hours  since  was 
writhing  and  groaning  and  mentally  anathematizing  the  memory 
of  Euclid ;  or  that  her  companion  was  mentally  striving  to  "invert  her 
mind"  after  the  most  psychological  style?  Now,  however,  they  look 
as  if  there  were  no  such  thing  in  the  world  as  hard  lessons;  and 
when  some  one,  with  an  unmistakable  chuckle,  observes  that  study- 
hour  is  just  half  over,  they  only  laugh  at  "what  might  have  been." 

Suddenly  there  is  a  clapping  of  hands,  which  appears  to  be  in 
honor  of  the  appearance  of  the  Knoxville  Cornet  Band.  This  is, 
to  all  save  the  Rector  and  his  wife,  a  most  unexpected  feature  in  the 
programme,  but  none  the  less  pleasant  "for  a'  that." 

Merrily  passes  the  time,  till  the  Rector,  with  a  teacher  on  each 
arm,  leads  the  way  to  the  dining  room,  where  a  delightful  oyster 
supper  is  awaiting  us. 

Soon  after  supper  it  was  announced  that  we  must  prepare  for 
the  best  part  of  the  programme,  the  sleighride  home  by  moonlight. 
No,  I  should  not  say  the  best;  for  that  was  undoubtedly  the  later 
announcement  that  the  rising-bell  would  ring  a  whole  hour  later 
than  usual. 

Thanking  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leffingwell  for  the  thoughtful  and 
generous  kindness  that  had  provided  the  delightful  entertainment, 
we  retired,  glad  to  know  that  the  rising-bell  would  not  rudely  awaken 
us  from  dreams  of  sleighrides  and  sleighbells. 


80 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
ANNIVERSARY  WEEK 

IT  was  a  good  time,  the  best  we  had  ever  had  at  St.  Mary's,  every- 
body said;  but  then  that  worthy  makes  the  same  remark  every 
year,  so  that  goes  for  nothing.  We  shall  tell  the  tale,  however,  and 
leave  you  to  judge  for  yourselves  about  our  Seventh  Anniversary. 

To  begin  at  the  beginning.  There  was  an  improvement  in  the 
method  of  getting  the  family  awakened,  all  early  in  the  Easter 
morning,  to  be  ready  for  the  six  o'clock  service.  It  happily  occurred 
to  a  member  of  the  faculty  that  "The  wrangling  and  the  jangling  of 
the  dismal  rising  bell"  was  not  in  accordance  with  the  fitness  of 
things  on  that  holy  morning.  An  Easter  carol  was  prepared,  and 
was  sung  in  the  halls  to  awaken  the  inmates  of  the  house.  You  can 
imagine  how  thrilling  and  touching  was  the  effect  as  the  sweet 
music  was  heard,  now  so  near  that  one  could  hear  distinctly  the 
refrain : 

"Lift  your  glad  voices  in  triumph  on  high; 
For  Jesus  hath  risen,  and  man  cannot  die." 

And  now  so  far  off  as  to  be  softened  to  an  Easter  echo,  sweet  and  low. 

Of  most  things  we  need  only  tell  you  they  were  as  of  old.  You 
may  picture  to  yourselves  the  interior  of  St.  John's,  bright  in  festal 
array,  fragrant  with  flowers  and  gay  with  scrolls  and  banners  bearing 
such  gladdening  words  as  "The  Lord  is  Risen" ;  "O  Death  where  is 
thy  Sting";  "I  Know  that  my  Redeemer  Liveth";  "Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  that  was  Slain ;"  and  you  may  see,  too,  the  rising  sun,  touching 
as  with  fingers  of  light  one  and  another  of  these  mottoes,  making 
them  indeed  illuminated  texts,  eloquent  of  the  story  of  the  risen 
Sun  of  Righteousness. 

Ah!  but  here  is  something  you  could  not  have  known,  that  St. 
Mary's  was  honored  by  the  presence  of  a  Bishop  on  Easter  Day! 
You  will  say  with  us  that  it  was  right  good  in  Bishop  Talbot  of 
Indiana  to  take  a  long  and  fatiguing  journey,  and  to  forego  the 
pleasure  of  being  at  home  on  that  day,  that  the  Easter  joy  of  St. 
Mary's  might  be  crowned  .by  the  laying  on  of  apostolic  hands.  We 
wondered  at  his  goodness;  but  he  had  not  been  here  long  before  we 
discovered  that  the  Bishop  had  in  his  heart  a  very  tender  place  for 
the  children  of  the  Church,  and  that  to  keep  the  feast  at  a  Church 
school,  suited  him  right  well. 

Leaving  you  to  picture  to  yourselves  the  white-robed  group  that 

81 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

stood  at  the  chancel  rail  to  renew  the  vows  of  their  Baptism,  and 
the  scene  at  the  Eucharistic  Feast,  that  highest  expression  of  the 
Easter  joy,  we  must  tell  how  earnest  and  good  were  the  words  of 
the  Bishop  to  those  he  had  confirmed,  and  how,  in  his  address  to  the 
congregation  that  filled  pews,  aisles,  and  vestry-room,  he  set  forth 
powerfully,  yet  lovingly,  the  truth  and  reasonableness  of  "those 
things  which  are  most  surely  believed  among  us." 

In  the  evening  the  Rev.  Mr.  Percival  read  a  poem  to  an  interested 
audience  in  the  study  hall,  and  then  the  family  and  guests  spent  an 
hour  in  social  intercourse  in  the  drawing  room,  library,  and  studio. 
These  rooms,  always  lovely  as  you  know,  were  made  more  than 
usually  attractive  by  the  great  number  of  blooming  plants,  mostly 
callas,  that  were  tastefully  arranged. 


ON  Wednesday  (Anniversary)  morning,  after  Matins,  the  Cate- 
chism was  repeated  by  the  school,  and,  well,  you  know  what 
our  dear  Bishop  said  last  year  of  the  Catechism  at  St.  Mary's;  we 
will  only  tell  that  the  School  lost  none  of  its  laurels  on  this  occasion. 

A  lecture  on  Naples,  by  Dr.  Cross,  was  followed  by  a  short 
exercise  in  calisthenics,  by  the  pupils.  Dinner  was  the  next  great 
event  of  the  day.  The  dining  room  looked  very  pleasant  with  bloom- 
ing plants,  statuary,  and  bright  dresses  and  faces. 

After  full  justice  had  been  done  to  the  dinner,  there  followed 
a  rich  feast  of  wit  in  the  after-dinner  speeches.  The  Rector  began, 
with  a  courteous  expression  of  pleasure  in  receiving  at  St.  Mary's  so 
many  of  its  friends;  and  after  a  touching  allusion  to  him  whose 
presence  had  so  often  been  the  attraction  of  our  anniversaries,  he 
called  on  Dr.  Chase,  as  the  oldest  priest  of  the  diocese,  for  a  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  our  lamented  bishop.  Dr.  Chase  responded,  with 
much  emotion,  and  then  Dr.  De  Koven  was  called  upon.  Now, 
between  ourselves,  you  and  us,  and  the  top  of  the  page,  we  had  had 
dire  misgivings  lest  the  Warden  of  Racine,  used  to  his  big,  hearty 
boys,  with  their  big,  hearty  voices,  should  think  St.  Mary's  School 
but  a  feeble  folk.  Listen  then  to  his  graceful  compliment!  He  said 
that  it  had  seemed  to  him  since  he  had  been  at  St.  Mary's  as  if  he 
had  been  listening  to  the  music  of  the  nightingales.  Now  wasn't 
that  nice! 

The  Reverend  Doctor  said  some  good  and  earnest  words  of 
appreciation  of  our  Rector's  work  here.  He  was  not  a  funny  man 

82 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

himself,  he  said,  but  he  could  at  least  show  his  good  will  in  that 
direction  by  calling  out  the  funniest  man  among  the  clergy. 

Dr.  Locke  thus  called  for  was  naturally  a  little  embarrassed, 
but  responded  in  a  speech  of  much  humor  and  which  was  received 
with  many  bursts  of  applause.  Dr.  Cushman  followed,  sustaining 
his  reputation  as  a  maker  of  after-dinner  speeches.  You  will  be  grieved, 
however,  to  learn  that  he  still  mistakes  for  cupids  the  cherubs  over 
the  door !  Why  this  is  thus,  we  may  not  say ;  nor  shall  we  repeat  the 
ill-natured  suggestion  of  one  of  his  reverend  brethren,  who  attributed 
the  doctor's  confusion  of  ideas  to  his  being  in  a  state  of  misery  instead 
of  in  a  state  of  matrimony. 

IET  us  hasten  to  the  last  speech,  the  one  from  the  lips  of  St.  Mary's 
->  benefactor,  the  Hon.  James  Knox.  He  began  with  some  humor- 
ous allusions  to  his  attempts  at  speech  making  in  his  early  life;  and 
after  some  pleasant  words  about  St.  Mary's  and  its  rector,  he  told 
of  his  return  from  Europe  two  years  ago,  when  the  beautiful  building 
that  had  been  erected  during  his  absence  was  illuminated  to  welcome 
him  home.  He  said  that  as  he  received  its  bright  welcome  and  the 
smiles  and  greetings  of  St.  Mary's  girls,  he  was  "reminded  of  a 
little  story:  An  Irishman  at  a  fair  in  Boston,  gazing  in  respectful 
admiration  at  the  belle  who  presided,  refused  to  take  an  equivalent 
for  the  five  dollar  bill  he  had  laid  on  the  table,  for  he  had  had  his 
'money's  worth'!  Thus,"  said  Mr.  Knox,  "I  gazed  that  night  upon 
the  bright  loveliness  of  St.  Mary's  School  and  had  my  money's 
worth."* 

The  speaker  took  his  seat  amid  hearty  applause;  and  the  Rector 
proposed  a  rising  vote  in  token  of  appreciation  of  what  Mr.  Knox 
had  done  for  St.  Mary's. 

We  leave  the  dinner  room  where  several  hours  have  been  passed 
most  pleasantly,  and  go  on  to  the  close  of  Anniversary  day  in  St. 
John's  Church.  The  combined  attractions  of  the  Anniversary  exer- 
cises and  of  the  fame  of  the  "silver-tongued  orator"  who  was  to 
deliver  the  address  had  drawn  together  a  great  crowd  who  listened 
with  rapt  attention  to  Dr.  De  Koven's  eloquent  discourse. 

On  the  return  from  church,  the  brilliantly  illuminated  school 
building  smiled,   through  the  rain,   a  new  welcome   to  the   guests. 

*  This  article  may  possibly  meet  the  eye  of  some  who  do  not  know  that 
Mr.  Knox's  "money's  worth"  was  the  worth  of  ten  thousand  dollars.  Previous  speakers 
at  dinner  had  made  allusions  to  the  Church's  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Knox.  His  telling 
of  his  little  story  was  a  most  graceful  way  of  crying  "quits." 

83 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

AN  impressive  scene,  the  baptism  of  the  baby  Ernest,  closed  the 
evening  of  this  eventful  day.  Dr.  De  Koven  officiated,  and 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Locke  and  Dr.  Cushman  were  sponsors.  We  appre- 
ciate the  playfully  expressed  wish  of  him  whose  namesake  the  child 
is,  "May  the  name  of  De  Koven  not  injure  him  in  the  estimation  of 
future  standing  committees!" 

The  "young  soldier"  has  since  been  "fully  armed  and  equipped," 
his  sponsors  having  duly  provided  knife,  fork,  spoon,  and  cup.  Of  the 
latter,  we  will  only  say  that  much  the  wonder  grew  how  a  clerical 
god-father  could  have  come  honestly  by  so  costly  a  christening  gift; 
but  the  suspicious  circumstance  became  in  some  way  interwoven 
with  a  statement  Dr.  Cushman  himself  made  at  the  Anniversary 
dinner,  that  Hon.  E.  H.  Sheldon  was  Paymaster  General  of  the 
forces  that  came  from  Chicago  to  take  possession  of  St.  Mary's. 
Was  the  cup  for  a  god-child  put  down  in  the  contingent  expenses? 
Or  was — but  we  never  tell  tales  out  of  school. 

But  lights  are  fled  and  garlands  dead,  and  all  the  guests  departed ; 
and  we  put  it  to  you  if  it  be  not  quite  true — the  statement  with  which 
we  started,  that  as  everyone  said,  and  as  now  you  have  read,  we 
humbly  trust,  without  levity,  there  was  never  a  time  more  thoroughly 
"prime,"  than  this,  told  of  now,  as  you'll  surely  allow  with  at  least 
some  attempt  at  brevity.  — Y.  Y.  K.  (Miss  Hitchcock.) 

ST.  MARY'S  was  illuminated  on  the  occasion  of  the  return  from 
Europe  of  Hon.  James  Knox.  The  following  note  was  handed  to 
him  early  in  the  evening : 

"We,  the  officers,  teachers,  and  pupils  of  St.  Mary's,  desire  to  offer  you 
our  congratulations  on  your  safe  return  to  your  native  land.  Will  you  accept, 
as  an  expression  of  hearty  good-will,  the  welcome  that  shines  forth  tonight 
from  the  building  that,  through  your  benefactions,  has  risen  in  stately  beauty 
during  your  absence?  — "(Signed)" 

In  every  window,  from  basement  to  attic,  bright  lights  shone 
forth,  an  index  of  the  warmth  and  cheerfulness  within.  The  effect 
was  very  fine.  A  sight  so  beautiful  and  unusual  attracted  many  of 
the  citizens  to  behold  it. 

The  thoroughness  of  the  work  at  St.  Mary's  was  never  better 
set  forth  than  in  the  following  remark  of  one  of  the  scholars: 
"I  tell  you  what  it  is,  girls,  any  one  that  gets  through  St.  Mary's 
School  without  learning  something  must  be  a  smarter  girl  than  I 
think  she  is"!  We  scarcely  need  add,  that  the  young  lady  making 
the  remark  is  of  Hibernian  extraction! 

84 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
THE  EPIPHANY 
By  Miss  Hitchcock 

THE  Christmas  carols  die  away, 
The  strains  of  holy  mirth, 
With  which  that  blessed  natal  day 
Is  hymned  by  heaven  and  earth. 
The  Church  in  triumph  now  doth  sing 
That  Bethlehem's  babe  is  Christ  the  King, 
And  while  the  Magi  bend  the  knee 
She  hails  His  glad  Epiphany. 

Once,  over  trackless  realms  of  night, 

The  voice  of  God  was  heard, 
The  voice  that  said,  "Let  there  be  light"! 

And  light  sprang  at  the  word. 
The  morning  stars  then  sang  for  joy; 
A  nobler  theme  is  our  employ 

When,  Light  of  Lights,  we  bow  to  Thee, 

Hailing  Thy  blest  Epiphany. 

Streaming  with  dazzling  beams  from  heaven, 

Shineth  the  light  of  day, 
White  with  prismatic  colors  seven, 

Mingling  in  one  pure  ray; 
Thus  with  the  "seven-fold  gifts"  divine, 
The  Sun  of  Righteousness  doth  shine; 

And  as  His  glorious  beams  we  see, 

We  hail  His  bright  Epiphany! 

And  kneeling  at  his  feet  implore 

Our  path  may  be  the  way 
That  shineth  ever  more  and  more 

Unto  the  perfect  day; 
Till  in  the  heavenly  city  bright 
That  needs  of  sun  nor  moon  the  light, 

We,  in  His  likeness  clothed,  may  be 

Blest  in  that  great  Epiphany! 


85 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

AFTER  the  last  Lenten  service  on  Easter  Even  (1874)  tne 
household  of  St.  Mary's  betook  themselves  to  rest,  with  many 
fears  that  the  cold  east  wind  then  blowing  boded  ill  for  Easter. 
Our  fears  were  indeed  realized;  for  upon  rising  on  Easter  morning* 
we  beheld  the  snowflakes  falling  fast,  while  already  the  snow  was 
lying  thick  upon  the  ground  and  piled  up  in  great  drifts  over  the 
walks.  It  was  a  bitter  disappointment  to  those  who  had  looked  for- 
ward to  the  early  service  in  the  church,  and  some  even  proposed  to 
wade  through  the  snow  rather  than  give  it  up.  Our  more  prudent 
Rector,  however,  declared  it  impossible,  saying  that  it  would  be 
wiser  to  hold  the  service  at  home;  and  we  enjoyed  it  there  much 
more  than  we  had  thought  possible,  in  the  first  moment  of  disappoint- 
ment. Our  grief  entirely  disappeared  when  at  ten  o'clock  we  were 
summoned  to  go  to  church  in  sleighs!  Truly,  that  sleighride  on 
Easter  day  will  be  long  remembered. 

THE  BISHOP'S  VISIT 

ON  THE  1 8th  and  19th  of  February,  our  Right  Reverend  Father 
visited  the  School.  Confirmation  was  administered  on  Mon- 
day evening,  in  the  parish  church.  This  visit  of  Bishop  Whitehouse 
was  especially  enjoyed  by  all,  for  he  was  able  to  devote  more  time  to 
the  inspection  of  the  School  and  its  workings  than  at  any  previous 
visit;  and  his  loving  encouragement  and  hearty  commendation  gave 
unmixed  pleasure  to  teachers  and  scholars.  After  Matins,  the 
Bishop  addressed  the  School,  commending  the  heartiness  of  the  ser- 
vice and  showing  how  close  and  important  was  the  connection  be- 
tween the  Church  life  and  the  personal  life,  and  how  mighty  and 
far-reaching  a  power  for  good  was  given  to  those  who,  as  at  St. 
Mary's,  were  able  to  unite  daily  in  common  prayer,  with  heart  and 
life,  to  "make  supplication  for  all  men." 

During  the  morning,  the  Bishop  visited  the  classes.  After  wit- 
nessing the  spirited  calisthenics  drill,  the  Bishop  was  the  center  of 
a  group  who  were  eager  listeners  to  a  fairy  story!  all  about  a  gracious 
princess,  with  a  mystic  girdle,  that  made  the  wearer  wondrous  wise. 
The  group  grew  larger  and  larger,  until  it  included  nearly  the  whole 
school ;  and  all  were  ready  to  give  the  verdict  that  the  Bishop  is  as 
good  at  a  fairy  story,  as  at  a  sermon. 


86 


CHAPTER  VII 

T  THE  opening  of  the  eighth  year  (1875-76) 
Bishop  Talbot  again  favored  us  with  his  ge- 
nial presence;  and  in  December  he  came 
with  Bishop  McLaren,  the  new  Bishop  of 
Illinois.  It  was  an  impressive  occasion,  the  visit  of  two 
bishops,  and  our  first  meeting  with  the  successor  of 
Bishop  Whitehouse. 

The  study  hall  was  draped  with  blue  and  white,  the 
school  colors.  Bishop  Talbot  made  one  of  his  happy 
speeches,  reviewing  pleasantly  his  relations  with  the 
school.  The  new  Bishop  was  welcomed  on  the  part  of 
the  school  by  Miss  Laning,  of  the  Class  of  '76.  Bishop 
McLaren's  address  combined  deep  feeling  with  humor, 
and,  like  Bishop  Talbot's,  was  frequently  interrupted 
by  applause.  That  rare  favor,  the  presence  of  Mr.  Knox, 
the  honored  benefactor  of  St.  Mary's  School,  added 
greatly  to  the  pleasure  of  the  reception,  which  was  held 
in  the  drawing  room  in  the  evening. 

By  the  division  of  the  Diocese  of  Illinois  in  1877, 
St.  Mary's  came  within  the  limits  of  the  Diocese  of 
Quincy.  Bishop  McLaren,  therefore,  was  for  only  two 
years  our  "very  own"  bishop,  but  even  in  that  short  time 
he  rendered  an  inestimable  service  to  the  School  in 
securing  for  it,  by  his  advice  and  influence,  the  beautiful 
stone  chapel.  One  of  his  former  parishioners,  Mrs. 
Bradford,  of  Cleveland,  started  the  subscription  with 

87 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

$  1,000,  and  from  that  the  good  work  went  on  to  com- 
pletion. 

Though  Bishop  McLaren  was  not  long  with  us  as 
our  bishop,  he  continued  his  interest  in  the  School  as 
trustee,  and  to  me  personally  was  a  life-long  friend  and 
adviser.  It  was  by  his  encouragement  that  I  cooperated 
with  Drs.  Fulton  and  Harris  in  establishing  The  Living 
Church,  upon  the  foundation  of  my  diocesan  paper.  In 
a  few  months  I  became  the  owner  of  the  weekly  paper, 
and  continued  its  publication  in  Chicago  for  over 
twenty  years. 

Bishop  McLaren  was  an  experienced  journalist,  a 
brilliant  writer,  and  was  greatly  helpful  to  me  in  those 
days  by  his  editorial  counsel  and  contributions.  In  com- 
pany with  him  and  his  archdeacon  I  had  a  wonderful 
vacation  in  Europe,  one  summer.  We  discovered  that 
it  is  not  always  true  that  "no  man  is  a  hero  to  his  valet" ; 
the  more  intimately  we  knew  Bishop  McLaren,  the 
more  we  admired  and  respected  him.  Vir  praeclarissi- 
mus! 

IN  a  long-time  record  of  an  institution,  of  course  it  is 
impossible  to  give  account  of  every  one  who  has 
rendered  valuable  service.  Comparatively  few,  the  few 
who  have  held  responsible  positions,  receive  the  credit 
which  should  be  shared  by  many.  One  of  these  whom 
I  recall  as  deserving  of  more  than  mention  in  the  school 
catalogue  was  Louise  Nichols,  bookkeeper  and  assistant 
matron.  She  came  to  us  in  1876,  and  remained  with 
us  over  forty  years. 

If  you  should  ask  one  of  the  "old  girls"  whom  she 
would  miss  most  on  revisiting  St.  Mary's,  I  think  she 
would  say  "Nickie,"  and  none  of  us  would  feel  hurt 
to  take  second  place.  That  is  not  to  say  that  Miss  Nichols 

88 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

was  the  most  important  factor  of  our  school  life,  or 
the  most  impressive  personality  in  our  goodly  company 
of  officers  and  teachers ;  but  I  think  it  is  no  disparage- 
ment to  the  rest  of  us  to  say  that  she  was  the  dearest. 
She  was  small  and  shy  and  reticent,  and  not  at 
all  given  to  demonstrative  affection;  at  the  same  time 
she  was  kind  and  conscientious,  utterly  unselfish  and 
devoted.  As  assistant  matron  she  was  most  intimately 
related  to  the  pupils,  especially  in  their  troubles  and 
illness,  while  she  had  no  disagreeable  duty  of  discipline 
to  lessen  her  popularity.  Among  my  papers  I  find  this 
copy  of  a  letter  I  gave  her  when  I  reluctantly  accepted 
her  resignation: 

"The  Resignation  of  Miss  Nichols 

"After  forty-two  years  of  service  and  residence  at  St.  Mary's 
Miss  Louise  S.  Nichols  relinquished  her  work  at  St.  Mary's  in 
June,  19 18.  The  following  extract  of  a  letter  to  her  by  the  Rector, 
was  adopted  as  an  expression  of  appreciation  by  the  California 
Chapter : 

"  'Mrs.  Leffingwell  and  I  have  often  reminded  each  other  of 
the  long  and  happy  relations  of  our  family  with  you,  and  of  the 
precious  memories  of  our  life  in  which  you  shared  at  St.  Mary's. 
Our  children  have  grown  up  in  your  kindly  presence,  and  thousands 
of  St.  Mary's  girls  remember  you  as  the  friend  of  their  youth  and 
good  example  for  their  later  years. 

"  'You  have  indeed  left  a  record  at  St.  Mary's,  of  which  you  and 
your  family  should  be  proud.  It  is  remarkable,  not  only  for  its 
length  of  years,  but  also  for  the  unqualified  respect  and  affection  that 
have  gone  out  to  you. 

"  'Though  the  tie  of  the  School  no  longer  binds  us,  we  shall  still 
hold  you  as  one  of  our  dearest  and  best  friends,  and  hope  to  meet 
again,  if  not  here,  then  in  the  Land  that  is  "not  very  far  off."  May 
your  life  be  crowned  with  blessing  as  it  is  with  honor.'  " 

There  have  been  many  long  terms  of  service  among 
the  officers,  teachers,  and  employees  at  St.  Mary's, 
though  perhaps  none,  except  my  own  term  of  fifty-one 

89 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

years,  so  long  as  that  of  Miss  Nichols.  Mrs.  Leffingwell, 
I  think,  comes  next,  with  a  record  of  forty  years;  Mrs. 
Rudd,  thirty-five  years;  Miss  Howard,  twenty-seven 
years;  Miss  Hitchcock,  twenty-six  years;  Dr.  Rudd, 
twenty-five  years;  Miss  Campbell,  as  a  student,  six 
years,  as  a  teacher,  twenty  years ;  Miss  Seamans,  as  stu- 
dent, four  years,  as  teacher,  twenty-four  years;  Mr. 
Somes,  twenty-five  years. 

Among  the  employees  I  remember  Kurtz  Sanders, 
foreman,  over  thirty  years;  James  and  Mary  Farrell, 
about  the  same.  During  most  of  the  half  century  we 
had  only  two  attending  physicians,  one  succeeding  the 
other;  Dr.  McClelland  and  Dr.  Becker.  They  are  grate- 
fully remembered.  Among  the  Knoxville  trustees,  Judge 
Sanford  and  Zelotes  Cooley  should  have  grateful  men- 
tion for  long  and  helpful  service. 

Whether  long  terms  of  service  in  any  institution  are 
for  better  or  worse,  on  the  whole,  has  been  questioned. 
Each  case  must  be  judged  on  its  merits.  In  one  case, 
at  St.  Mary's,  it  was  remarked  by  some  one  that  a  certain 
capable  teacher  "had  been  there  too  long"!  In  her  ex- 
treme loyalty  to  St.  Mary's  she  had  spoken  disparaging- 
ly of  another  school  in  which  her  critic  was  interested. 
It  seems  to  me  that  it  should  be  counted  to  the  credit 
of  a  school  that  its  principal  officers  and  teachers  should 
accept  its  service  as  a  life  work.  On  the  other  hand  a 
too  long  service  may  stand  in  the  way  of  progress  and 
tend  to  insubordination. 

The  advantage  of  long  service  in  the  administrative 
and  executive  departments  of  any  business  is  apparent, 
but  it  has  also  its  peril.  The  same  old  way  is  the  easiest 
way,  the  worn  track  is  the  smoothest,  the  wheels  run 
with  least  guidance  in  the  ruts.  I  have  known  a  school 
which  was  forty  years  "behind  the  times,"  as  could  be 

90 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

plainly  seen  even  from  its  annual  catalogue.  Under  the 
same  management  for  two-score  years,  there  had  been 
no  progress. 

Bishop  McLaren,  I  remember,  gave  his  approval 
of  my  work  on  The  Living  Church  in  Chicago,  because 
it  would  keep  me  in  touch  with  the  outside  world,  and 
so  be  an  advantage  to  St.  Mary's.  I  am  glad  to  believe 
that  my  divided  service  during  the  twenty  years  of  work 
on  the  Church  paper  was  not  without  some  compensa- 
tion to  the  School. 

BUT  far  more  helpful  in  the  way  of  progress,  than 
any  influence  or  inspiration  gained  by  me  in  my 
journalistic  career,  was  the  splendid  cooperation  of 
officers  and  teachers  who  had  the  interests  of  the  School 
at  heart  and  were,  as  a  rule,  devoted  to  its  improvement 
and  success.  Of  course  among  so  many  and  during  so 
long  a  time,  there  were  a  few  who  do  not  deserve  honor- 
able mention;  incompetent,  indifferent,  even  disloyal. 
The  most  difficult  thing  a  school  manager  has  to  do  is  to 
secure  good  teachers  who  at  the  same  time  are  adaptable 
to  the  school  life.  In  these  later  days,  however,  when 
teachers  are  more  often  selected  from  college  graduates, 
this  combination  is  seldom  required.  The  officers  who 
teach  have  little  to  do  with  the  care  of  the  students  and 
do  not  largely  influence  the  community  life;  whether 
for  better  or  worse,  I  say  not,  but  even  so,  the  finding  of 
capable  teachers  is  as  difficult  as  it  is  important.  Happy 
the  school  manager  who  has  his  quiver  full ! 

For  the  teacher,  like  the  poet,  is  born,  not  made. 
He  can  be  helped  a  little  by  the  experience  and  advice 
of  others,  but  he  can  not  be  taught  how  to  teach.  In  the 
studio  where  I  was  permitted  to  work  for  a  time,  an  old 
farmer  paused  to  watch  with  wide-eyed  wonder  the 

9i 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

growth  of  the  sketch  under  the  master's  hand.  "Say, 
Mr.  Rondel,"  he  exclaimed,  "what  would  you  charge 
to  teach  me  to  paint  like  that?"  To  which  the  artist 
pleasantly  replied:  "My  friend,  I  have  been  painting 
for  over  thirty  years,  but  I  couldn't  teach  anyone  how 
to  paint."  I  might  say  the  same  about  teaching  anyone 
how  to  teach.  The  thing  that  I  have  been  doing  most  of 
my  life  I  seem  to  know  little  about,  theoretically.  With 
all  my  experience,  I  could  not  teach  one  to  teach. 

Recommendations  are  of  little  value,  for  they  are 
generally  given  by  amiable  people,  pastors  and  others, 
who  wish  to  help  the  applicant  to  a  position.  I  remem- 
ber one  extreme  case  of  an  incompetent  and  incompat- 
ible teacher  who  came  to  us  highly  commended,  whose 
resignation,  after  fair  trial,  I  had  to  insist  upon.  She  was 
not  disposed  to  go,  took  to  her  bed,  and  feigned  illness. 
We  were  finally  compelled  to  carry  her  out  to  the  am- 
bulance and  send  her  to  the  hospital  in  Galesburg. 

In  later  years,  with  added  experience,  I  was  able 
to  secure  teachers  upon  their  record,  or  from  personal 
acquaintance,  who  seldom  failed  to  meet  the  reasonable 
requirements  of  their  position.  It  is  a  great  privilege 
to  bear  witness  to  the  high  character,  competence,  and 
helpfulness  of  nearly  all  who  were  officially  related  to 
the  School  during  the  half  century  of  my  administra- 
tion. To  the  two  in  highest  rank  and  with  heaviest 
responsibility,  Miss  Hitchcock  and  Miss  Howard,  each 
serving  a  quarter  of  a  century  as  Principal,  the  School 
is  largely  indebted  not  only  for  its  high  standing,  but 
also  for  its  continued  existence. 

AFTER  years  of  broken  health  and  the  long  pros- 
tration of  his  last  illness,  James  Knox,  the  bene- 
factor of  St.  Mary's  and  the  patron  of  education  in 

92 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST,  MARTS 

several  colleges,  in  October,  1876,  was  called  from  the 
scene  of  his  earthly  labors  and  charities.  His  memory 
deserves  more  than  a  passing  tribute.  The  city  that  he 
beautified,  the  school  that  he  enlarged,  the  college  that 
he  founded,  the  great  institutions  of  the  East  that  he 
aided,  the  personal  friends  and  relations  that  have 
shared  his  fame  and  fortune,  are  all  in  mourning,  and 
there  is  needed  no  synopsis  of  his  noble  life  to  tell  them 
what  they  have  lost. 

We  had  hoped  that  he  would  yet  be  spared  many 
years,  at  least  until  he  had  seen  how  his  labor  of  love 
had  provoked  the  Church  to  jealousy  and  good  works. 
But  being  dead  he  yet  speaks,  and  in  St.  Mary's  School, 
generation  after  generation  shall  rise  up  to  call  him 
blessed.  He  was  a  large-hearted,  liberal-minded  man; 
the  friend  of  religion  and  of  learning,  and  sympathy  can 
but  drop  a  tear  of  sorrow,  when  it  hears  that  the  godly 
are  minished  from  among  the  children  of  men.  His 
life  was  long  and  useful.  As  a  public  and  as  a  private 
man,  in  every  position,  he  reflected,  as  well  as  received, 
honor.  His  memory  shall  be  preserved  fragrant  in  many 
hearts.  His  will  be  one  of  the  names  which  the  world 
will  not  willingly  let  die.  He  sought  no  name,  yet  the 
name  of  Knox  shall  be  garnered  forever  in  the  archives 
of  the  Church,  and  in  the  hearts  of  her  children. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  teachers  and  pupils  of  St.  Mary's 
School,  Oct.  10,  1876,  the  following  expression  of  re- 
spect and  gratitude  was  adopted  by  a  rising  vote : 

"St.  Mary's  School  mourns  today  the  loss  of  a  noble  benefactor, 
one  to  whose  generous  gifts  the  school  has  been  greatly  indebted 
for  the  usefulness  and  success  that  now  attend  it. 

"Not  only  we  who  are  now  here  will  revere  his  memory,  but 
future  generations  of  those  who  shall  have  tasted  the  fruits  of  his 
beneficence  will  honor  his  name. 

93 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

"Many  of  us  are  privileged  to  think  of  him  as  the  loving  friend 
as  well  as  the  benefactor  of  St.  Mary's  School.  His  have  been  not 
only  the  gifts  which  bespeak  the  munificent  patron,  but  also  the  little 
tokens  that  indicate  the  thoughtful  giver;  the  book,  the  picture,  the 
paper,  the  kindly  message,  the  welcome  letter  from  over  the  sea, 
coming  to  assure  the  busy  workers  of  St.  Mary's  that  Mr.  Knox 
had  for  them  all  a  deep  personal  interest  and  regard. 

"One  hope  his  lifetime  has  not  seen  fulfilled,  the  completion  of 
the  building  for  which  he  has  done  so  much.  Let  us  honor  his  memory 
in  the  faithful  endeavor  to  carry  out  his  plans,  and  to  finish,  in  all 
its  noble  proportions,  the  building  whose  corner  stone  bears  the  name 
of  James  Knox." 

THE  NINTH  ANNIVERSARY 

(From  the  Chicago   Tribune) 

THE  evening  before,  Bishop  McLaren  had  preached  and  con- 
firmed thirteen  in  St.  John's  Church,  Knoxville,  of  whom 
twelve  were  pupils  of  St.  Mary's.  As  the  long  line  of  girls,  fresh 
and  rosy  as  the  dawn,  filed  up  the  aisle  of  the  village  church,  dressed 
with  simplicity  and  taste,  it  was  a  sight  to  gladden  the  eyes  and 
quicken  the  pulse.  The  Bishop  preached  to  them  upon  the  necessity 
of  exemplifying  in  their  lives  the  great  principles  of  the  Gospel,  so 
that  men  should  take  knowledge  of  them,  that  they  had  been  with 
Jesus. 

The  next  morning  early,  all  who  were  in  the  seminary  were 
recalled  to  sublunary  scenes  by  the  sweetly  sung  carols  of  the  rising 
"belles,"  which,  sounding  through  the  spacious  corridors,  might  well 
have  reminded  one  of  the  melodies  of  Heaven  and  the  songs  of 
angels.  There  are  some  people,  though,  who  are  nothing  if  they 
are  not  cynical,  and  a  bachelor,  who  has  never  had  the  grace  to 
"dye"  for  anybody,  when  reminded  that  by  coming  on  the  late  train 
he  had  lost  a  treat,  said  that  doubtless  he  should  hear  their  clappers 
all  day  long! 

At  ii  A.M.  there  was  service  in  Study  Hall,  in  which  the 
Rev.  Drs.  Chase  and  Cushman  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dresser  took  part, 
and  the  Bishop  addressed  the  young  ladies  from  the  words,  "Ye 
are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows,"  and  spoke  of  God's  estimate 
of  us,  and  the  importance  of  our  having  a  right  estimate  of  ourselves 
and  of  our  making  a  right  use  of  our  opportunities  and  responsibilities. 

94 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

After  a  recess,  the  pupils  went  through  their  daily  drill  in  calis- 
thenics. To  the  uninitiated  it  is  wonderful  to  see  its  myriad  forms  and 
poses,  and  it  argues  well  for  the  future  of  woman's  rights,  the  skill 
and  precision  with  which  these  graceful  girls  "struck  out  from  the 
shoulder."  It  went  far  to  convince  one  that  the  stories  we  see  in  the 
papers  about  pinbacks  and  glove  fitting  corsets  are  myths,  at  any  rate 
at  St.  Mary's.  They  would  be  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  freedom, 
ease,  and  poetry  of  motion  that  our  own  eyes  saw. 

During  the  morning  a  petition,  signed  by  all  the  girls  (it  is 
wonderful  the  unanimity  among  them)  for  a  holiday,  was  presented 
to  the  Bishop.  It  is  not  in  human  nature,  certainly  not  in  Bishop 
McLaren's  nature,  to  say  No  to  a  request  from  such  a  bevy  of  beauty, 
and  when,  with  a  few  words  of  pleasantry,  he  granted  it,  there  was 
such  a  clapping  of  hands  as  showed  how  much  their  hearts  were  in  it. 

St.  Mary's  School  has  been  in  operation  nine  years.  In  that  time 
it  has  made  itself  a  reputation  as  wide  as  the  land.  It  draws  its 
scholars  from  as  far  east  as  Washington,  from  as  far  west  as  Utah  and 
Colorado.  Bishops  of  other  dioceses  than  Illinois  say  it  has  no  superior, 
if  any  equal,  among  the  girls'  schools  of  the  country.  Its  Principal,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Leffingwell,  is  "a  ripe  scholar  and  a  good  one,"  and  admir- 
ably fitted  for  the  position  he  occupies.  His  success  proves  it.  His 
school  is  almost  full ;  it  is  a  credit  not  only  to  the  diocese,  but  to  the 
State  of  Illinois.  It  must  soon  be  enlarged  or  shut  its  doors  to  pupils 
who  are  wishing  to  enter.  It  is  said  that  better  times  are  ahead,  and  it 
is  to  be  hoped  that  ere  long  the  Episcopalians  of  Illinois  will  learri 
to  have  a  still  higher  appreciation  of  what,  in  my  judgment,  is  the 
brightest  jewel  in  their  crown.  I  am  glad  to  have  had  an  opportunity 
to  attend  St.  Mary's  anniversary.  I  had  already  heard  much  of  its 
fame,  and  now,  like  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  can  say  the  half  was  not 
told.  St.  Mary's  is  "a  thing  of  beauty  and  a  joy  forever." 

(From  the  Knox  Republican) 

IN  the  evening  the  ladies  gave  their  guests  a  reception.  The  elegant 
suite  of  rooms  was  thrown  open,  decorated  with  statuary  and 
pictures,  and  richly  ornamented  with  flowers.  The  fair  faces  of  the 
girls;  their  picturesque  costumes;  the  brilliant  lights;  the  flowers; 
the  statuary;  the  pictures,  all  combined  to  form  a  scene  bright  and 
beautiful  in  the  extreme.  After  enjoying  a  most  pleasant  evening, 
the  party  broke  up;  but  not  before  St.  Mary's  Birthday  Cake  had 
been  sampled. 

95 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

It  is  the  opinion  of  all  who  were  privileged  to  be  present  at  this 
anniversary  occasion,  that  it  was  one  of  the  most  pleasant  reunions 
that  has  ever  taken  place  at  St.  Mary's.  We  need  hardly  add  that 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Leffingwell  exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost  to 
minister  to  the  comfort  and  pleasure  of  their  guests,  and  we  are 
sure  that  all  went  away  carrying  with  them  the  pleasantest  recollec- 
tions of  St.  Mary's,  and  of  the  kind  and  unremitting  attention 
received  there. 


THE  ANNIVERSARY  DINNER  SPEECHES 

THE  good  old  custom  was  not  allowed  to  fail  this  year.  As 
usual  it  proved  to  be  the  spiciest  and  most  enjoyable  part  of 
the  day.  Our  brief  notes  do  not  give,  of  course,  a  tithe  of  the  good 
points  made,  to  say  nothing  of  the  spirit  of  the  occasion,  which  could 
be  felt  only  by  those  who  participated. 

Bishop  McLaren  said  he  would  address  the  young  ladies  in  the 
same  way  they  had  addressed  him  in  the  morning,  and  say:  Dear 
girls,  the  Bishop  respectfully  requests  a  holiday!  and  so  he  would 
be  excused  from  any  further  work  for  the  day;  to  which  they  agreed 
with  hearty  applause. 

Dr.  Cushman,  of  Chicago,  being  called  upon  by  the  Rector,  said 
that  the  best  speech  he  could  make  would  be  in  the  six  words  used 
by  a  member  of  Parliament  who  followed  Burke,  on  one  occasion: 
"I  say  ditto  to  Mr.  Burke."  He  said  he  was  very  sorry  not  to  be 
here  last  night;  with  other  reasons  for  the  delay,  it  was  his  bashful- 
ness  that  held  him  back.  The  last  time  he  came  with  the  Bishop 
all  the  girls  were  drawn  up  in  the  hall,  and  he  had  to  run  the  gaunt- 
let; so  this  time  he  had  waited  till  he  could  come  in  more  quietly. 
He  was  resolved,  however,  to  come,  for  he  did  not  want  them  to  find 
out  that  they  could  have  an  anniversary  without  him !  When  he  saw 
the  room  full  of  girls  this  morning,  all  looking  as  young  and  pretty 
as  they  did  years  ago,  he  wondered  what  it  was  that  kept  them  so, 
while  everybody  else  was  growing  older.  But  there  was  an  influence 
at  St.  Mary's  that  did  folks  good,  even  when  they  came  only  for  a 
day.  A  layman  had  said  to  him  since  he  came,  "Why,  Dr.  C,  how 
you  have  improved"!  but  he  added,  "in  a  lateral  direction."  The 
Doctor  said  he  was  sorry  to  miss  the  "rising  belles"  this  morning 
(the  young  ladies  that  sing  the  Easter  carol  at  dawn),  but  he  sup- 
posed their  clappers  would  keep  going  all  day.  He  thought  they  used 

96 


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EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

them  well  when  the  Bishop  promised  them  a  holiday.  (Applause.)  He 
was  sorry  to  be  the  only  representative  from  Chicago,  but  as  he 
was  an  old  bachelor  they  sent  him.  The  rest  were  afraid  to  come 
because  it  was  so  hard  to  get  away,  but  he  didn't  want  to  get  away. 
(Applause.)  He  was  sorry  to  see  the  study  hall  so  full  this  morning, 
for  before  long  there  will  not  be  any  room  for  visitors  at  Anniversary, 
unless  the  school  should  be  improved  in  a  lateral  direction,  as  he  had 
been!  He  hoped  the  diocese  would  take  it  in  hand.  He  knew  some 
were  thinking  of  it.  And  that  when  the  "hard  times"  were  over,  he 
hoped  it  would  be  done.  He  said  that  he  had  concluded  this  year 
he  ought  not  to  make  a  speech,  and  would  give  the  same  reason  that 
Bishop  Potter  did  for  not  speaking  in  Boston.  A  friend  of  his  had  made 
a  speech  there,  and  on  his  return,  mentioned  it  to  some  one,  who 
replied,  "I'm  glad  of  it;  I  always  did  hate  those  Bostonians"!  St. 
Mary's  was  dearer  to  him  every  year,  and  he  had  come  to  love  it 
too  much  to  inflict  a  speech  upon  it. 

Dr.  Chase  remarked  that  he  had  made  some  speeches  after  dinner, 
but  never  had  made  a  real  after-dinner  speech;  and  still  the  wonder 
grew,  how  some  could  do  it  so  handsomely. 

Rev.  S.  T.  Allen,  of  Galesburg,  said  that  he  had  been  present  at 
six  anniversaries,  and  always  with  increased  interest.  He  had  no 
reputation  to  sustain  as  an  after-dinner  speaker,  and  thought  it  wise 
to  follow  the  example  of  his  ecclesiastical  superiors,  the  Bishop  and 
the  Dean,  in  brevity.  Some  one  had  said,  "Make  your  home  happy, 
even  if  you  have  to  stay  away  from  it."  He  would  follow  that 
suggestion  in  making  his  speech  good.  He  wanted  the  Bishop  to 
know  that  some  others  had  been  honored  with  petitions  as  well  as  he, 
that  one  had  been  presented  to  him,  to  the  effect  that  as  the  Bishop 
had  granted  the  girls  a  holiday,  he  should  stay,  himself,  and  keep 
them  straight.   (Applause.) 

The  Rector  said  that  there  was  no  other  way.  The  Bishop  had 
let  down  the  fence  and  now  he  must  look  after  the  flock.  The  Rector 
had  for  nine  years  reigned  supreme;  but  now  petitions  were  passed' 
over  his  head,  and  his  occupation  was  gone.  He  could  not  be  responsi- 
ble for  anything  that  might  happen. 

Rev.  Mr.  Dresser,  of  Carlinville,  said  that  he  belonged  to  a 
family  that  could  laugh  at  good  jokes,  but  never  were  known  to  make 
any.  It  was  his  first  visit,  and  he  ought  to  be  let  off  easy.  His  visit 
had  deepened  the  appreciation  that  he  had  long  felt,  and  his  interest: 
would  be  greater  than  ever. 

97 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Mr.  Candee,  of  Cairo,  thought  that  not  the  half  had  been  told 
him  of  St.  Mary's.  The  school  looked  last  night  like  a  garden  full 
of  beautiful  flowers ;  and  all  day  it  had  seemed  to  him  like  a  magnifi- 
cent volume  of  pictures,  something  new  and  beautiful  coming  to 
light  with  the  turning  of  every  page.  He  was  glad  to  hear  that  there 
was  a  possibility  of  an  extension.  The  diocese  owed  it  to  the  School, 
and  somebody  should  move  in  it.  He  hoped  the  diocese  would  re- 
spond. 

Hon.  R.  P.  Johnston,  of  Springfield,  said  it  made  a  difference 
in  talking  to  the  girls,  whether  one  is  at  home,  or  in  a  strange  place 
surrounded  by  grave  and  reverend  seniors.  These  Bishops  and  Deans 
and  Rectors  were  formidable  persons,  and  a  layman  felt  embarrassed 
under  such  circumstances.  He  would,  however,  volunteer  to  stay 
and  help  the  Bishop  look  after  them  during  that  holiday  he  had 
given.  (Applause.) 

The  Bishop  wished  to  explain  that  Dr.  Cushman  was  not  so 
much  "engaged"  as  had  been  charged,  or  might  be  inferred  from 
the  printed  statement  in  the  last  Diocese.  The  Doctor  had  confessed 
that  he  was  engaged  to  one.  His  hearers  did  not  probably  understand 
his  remarks,  but  the  Bishop  did.  He  was  engaged  to — Miss  Annie 
Versary!   (Applause.) 

RESOLUTIONS  BY  THE  DIOCESAN  CONVENTION 
St.  Mary's,  Knoxville 

THIS  Convention  has  often  expressed  its  confidence  in  this  grand 
school  for  girls.  Would  that  we  had  done  more  than  speak 
good  words  for  it!  The  amount  given  by  the  diocese  has  been  but  a 
mere  fraction  compared  with  the  benefactions  of  those  not  of  our 
communion  and  the  personal  sacrifices  of  the  reverend  rector.  To 
his  judicious  management,  to  his  untiring  perseverance,  we  owe  the 
flourishing  condition  of  St.  Mary's,  Knoxville.  He  is  the  right  man 
in  the  right  place. 

The  committee  would  recommend  the  passage  of  the  following 
resolutions : 

"Resolved,  That  the  Chancellor  of  the  Diocese,  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  Bishop,  be  requested  to  proceed,  under  the  statutes 
of  the  State  of  Illinois,  to  organize  a  new  corporation  for  St.  Mary's 
School,  and  to  complete  the  transfer  of  the  property  at  as  early  a  day 
as  convenient. 

98 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

"Resolved,  That  the  Bishop,  the  Chancellor,  and  the  Rector 
of  the  School  be  requested  to  select  from  the  male  communicants 
in  the  diocese  a  number  of  persons  to  act  as  corporators,  and  to  procure 
the  acknowledgment  of  the  requisite  papers. 

"Resolved,  That  the  present  committee  be  continued  with  author- 
ity to  procure  any  further  legal  or  legislative  action  that  may  be 
needed  for  the  foregoing  purposes,  and,  with  the  Bishop,  to  prepare 
a  suitable  code  of  by-laws  and  statutes  for  the  government  of  the 
new  corporation. 

"Resolved,  That  this  Convention  recognizes  with  deep  gratitude 
the  continued  interest  which  the  Hon.  James  Knox  has  shown  in  our 
diocesan  school,  by  the  conditional  offer  of  another  $10,000  for  the 
completion  of  the  building  and  expresses  the  earnest  hope  that  he  will 
allow  the  offer  to  stand  for  a  time,  trusting  that  ere  long  the  condition 
of  the  Diocese  will  warrant  us  in  an  earnest  and  united  effort  to 
raise  the  balance  required." 

REPORT  OF  ST.  MARY'S  SCHOOL 

To  the  Right  Reverend  the  Bishop  of  Illinois: 

THE    Rector   of   St.    Mary's   School,   Knoxville,    the    Diocesan 
School  for  Girls,  respectfully  offers  the  following  report  for  the 
school  year  ending  June  14th,  1877: 

Whole  number  of  boarding  pupils 63 

Whole  number  of  day  scholars 38 

Total  of  pupils 101 

Average  attendance   90 

Officers  and  teachers  employed 10 

Persons  in  domestic  service 10 

Total  number  employed   20 

Number  confirmed,  12;  baptized,  5;  these  are  included  in  the 
report  of  St.  John's  Parish. 

The  School  has  contributed  during  the  year:  To  Church  School 
in  China,  $40;  to  Bishop  Tuttle's  School,  Salt  Lake  City,  $40;  to 
Diocesan  Missions,  $45.46;  to  furnishing  Altar,  $8.30;  to  Aged  and 
Infirm  Clergy  Fund,  $10;  to  Foreign  Missions,  $10;  to  Nashotah, 
$10;  to  Domestic  Missions,  $10;  to  Sunday  School,  La  Salle,  $5; 
for  silver  Communion  Service,  $30.45,  and  silver  and  gold  ornaments 
valued  at  $20;  to  Society  for  Increase  of  the  Ministry,  $10;  to  Mr. 

99 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Kenney's  Mission  in  Cuba,  $20;  to  St.  Mark's  Hospital,  Salt  Lake 
City,  $10;  to  St.  Luke's  Hospital,  Chicago,  $74.78.  Total  offerings, 

$329. 

The  income  of  the  School  is  derived  entirely  from  current  charges, 
out  of  which  all  expenses  are  paid — repairs,  insurance,  improvements, 
and  furnishings,  together  with  the  interest  on  $13,500,  present  debt. 
Something  is  done  every  year  to  aid  daughters  of  clergymen  in  de- 
fraying the  expenses  of  their  education. 

The  school  has  opened  its  tenth  year  with  a  larger  number  of 
pupils  than  ever  before.  Its  pupils  are  from  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa, 
Missouri,  Wisconsin,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Utah  Territory,  and  the 
District  of  Columbia.  Should  prosperity  return  to  the  business  of 
our  country,  there  is  no  doubt  that  another  extension  would  be 
needed.  This  is  partially  provided  for  by  the  conditional  bequest  of 
the  Hon.  James  Knox,  of  $10,000,  requiring  a  like  sum  to  be  contrib- 
uted by  others.  In  a  certain  contingency,  however,  of  a  law-suit  in 
which  the  Knox  estate  is  involved,  the  above  amount  and  something 
more  would  revert  to  the  school  as  residuary  legatee,  without  condi- 
tion. The  extension  could  then  be  made  without  appealing  to  the 
liberality  of  the  Church. 

Respectfully  submitted,  by  the  Rector, 

C.  W.  Leffingwell. 

A  BEAUTIFUL  picture  has  lately  been  added  to  the  treasures 
of  St.  Mary's  School,  a  fine  copy  of  Murillo's  Madonna  (in 
the  Pitti  Palace,  Florence)  of  the  size  of  the  original,  and  in  a  mag- 
nificent carved  gilt  frame.  The  artist,  from  whom  it  was  purchased 
by  the  Rector  last  summer,  is  Mrs.  Hart,  widow  of  our  American 
sculptor,  who  has  not,  perhaps,  her  superior  as  a  copyist.  We  hope 
that  this  is  not  the  last  of  her  pictures  that  we  shall  see  here. 

MISS  FRANCIS  has  returned  from  Europe.  Her  reception  was 
a  most  enthusiastic  one.  The  whole  front  of  the  house  was 
white  with  fluttering  handkerchiefs  while  the  flutterers  cheered  till 
they  were  hoarse.  Upon  her  nearer  approach,  forth  issued  from  the 
doors  St.  Mary's  girls,  and — but  we  draw  a  veil  over  the  scene. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  we  helped  pick  up  the  pieces. 

ON  Thursday,  November  II,  St.  Mary's  School  was  honored  by 
a  visit  from  a  number  of  the  clergy  who  had  been  in  attend- 
ance at  the  Convocation  held  in  Galesburg.  They  were  present  at 

100 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Morning  Prayer,  on  which  occasion  Dr.  Chase  made  a  short  address 
to  the  School.  The  guests  made  a  tour  of  the  house  under  the  escort 
of  the  Rector;  and  then,  with  appetites  sharpened  by  the  vigorous 
exercise  of  going  up  stairs,  down  stairs,  and  in  my  ladies'  chambers, 
they  sat  down  to  lunch.  The  bill  of  fare  we  may  not  give;  but  we 
are  told  that  a  distinguished  layman  from  Chicago,  who  was  present, 
remarked,  "Oh,  'tis  worth  coming  all  the  way  here  to  taste  such  good 
brown  bread." 

IT  will  be  seen  from  the  following  statement  that  more  than  one- 
half  the  pupils  in  St.  Mary's  School  are  not  from  our  Church 
families.  The  families  represented  this  year  are:  Episcopal,  43;  Pres- 
byterian, 23;  Congregational,  7;  Methodist,  6;  Universalist,  4; 
Roman  Catholic,  3 ;  Baptist,  2 ;  Lutheran,  1 ;  not  stated,  5 ;  making 
in  all,  at  the  present  writing,  94. 

ONE  evening  the  Sigma  Mu  Society  entertained  very  pleasantly 
its  small  audience,  the  household  of  St.  Mary's  School.  With 
but  little  delay  the  curtain  rose,  that  is  to  say  the  folding  doors  that 
separate  the  drawing  room  from  the  library  flew  open;  and  lo!  a 
rosebud  garden,  the  whole  society  pleasingly  grouped  in  a  leafy  bower, 
which  a  few  hours'  work  had  wrought  from  boughs  of  bright  autum- 
nal foliage. 

Then  followed  a  very  pretty  little  drama,  or  operetta,  Long- 
fellow's translation  of  The  Blind  Girl  of  Castel  Cuille,  dramatized 
for  the  occasion  by  Miss  Hitchcock.  The  "verdurous  valleys  and 
leafy  alleys"  of  the  poem  were  well  represented  by  arches  entwined 
with  green  boughs,  among  which  a  rustic  procession,  "with  garlands 
for  the  bridal  laden," 

"Wound  aslant 
With  merry  sallies  singing  their  chant; 
The    roads    shall    bloom,    the    roads    shall    bloom, 
So  fair  a  bride  shall  leave  her  home, 
Shall  blossom  and  bloom  with  garlands  gay, 
So  fair  a  bride  shall  pass  today." 

In  striking  contrast  to  this  "band  of  maidens,  gaily  frolicking" 
was  the  blind  girl  in  her  cottage,  "alone,  benighted,"  sadly  repeating, 

"Day  for  the  others,  ever,  but  for  me 
Forever  night!  forever  night!" 
IOI 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

CHARITY 
By  Miss  Hitchcock 

THE  Church  doth  many  lessons  teach 
Of  faith  and  hope  and  love, 
She  bids  us  learn  their  blessedness 
And  all  their  sweetness  prove, 
As  through  the  Christian  Zodiac 
The  hallowed  seasons  move. 

And  now  the  Lenten  warning  sounds, 
As  she  calls  to  fast  and  prayer, 

That  all  our  works  are  nothing  worth 
Unless  that  love  we  share — 

The  love  that  led  the  Sinless  One 
For  man  the  cross  to  bear. 

She  bids  us  learn  the  charity 

That  seeketh  not  its  own ; 
She  telleth  us  how  mighty  love 

Did  for  our  sins  atone, 
And  how  our  Elder  Brother  bore 

For  us  the  cross  alone. 

Her  voice  we  heed,  and  pray  Thee,  Lord, 

For  the  perfect  charity, 
Without  which  whosoever  lives 

Is  counted  dead  by  Thee; 
That  gift  of  gifts,  which  greater  is 

Than  to  know  all  mystery. 

Knowledge  shall  fail  and  pass  away, 
The  gift  of  tongues  shall  cease; 

But  charity  remains  for  aye, 
The  very  bond  of  peace. 

Oh !  send  Thy  Holy  Spirit,  Lord ; 
Our  charity  increase ! 

So  shall  we  keep  the  Feast  of  feasts, 
With  hearts  from  self  set  free; 

So  shall  we  dwell  in  perfect  love, 
Thy  children's  liberty; 

So  shall  we  hear  the  Master  say, 
"Ye  blessed,  come  to  Me!" 

102 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HE  tenth  year  (1877-78)  had  the  distinction 
of  being  our  Decennial;  its  close  was 
marked  by  an  interesting  Celebration,  an 
account  of  which  we  take  from  The  Pro- 
vince of  Illinois.  At  that  time,  in  our  western  country, 
ten  years  seemed  an  age  to  be  proud  of.  From  the  small 
beginning  and  almost  impossible  conditions  of  1868, 
St.  Mary's  had  taken  high  rank  among  the  institutions 
of  the  Church;  full  grown  and  well  known,  her  Decen- 
nial surely  deserved  a  high  celebration.  Above  all,  pro- 
found gratitude  was  due  to  the  Divine  Guidance  and 
blessing  which  had  attended  the  work. 

THE  DECENNIAL  ANNIVERSARY,  1868-1878 
Correspondence  of  "The  Province" 

FROM  the  9th  to  the  12th  of  June,  1878,  St.  Mary's  celebrated 
its  decennial  anniversary.  It  was  a  glorious  occasion,  and  will 
be  long  remembered.  Friends  of  the  School  were  gathered  from  far, 
and  were  well  rewarded  for  their  pains,  with  what  they  saw  and  heard. 
It  was  a  continual  feast  of  good  things. 

Sunday,  the  9th,  was  Baccalaureate  Sunday.  St.  John's  Church, 
which  had  been  newly  freshened  up,  was  beautifully  decorated  with 
flowers.  The  long  line  of  students,  with  visitors  and  citizens,  filled 
it ;  and  as  they  came  marching  into  church,  singing  their  processional 
hymn,  it  was  a  foretaste  of  the  good  things  to  come.  After  a  choral 
service,  Dr.  Leffingwell  preached  the  Baccalaureate  Sermon,  taking 
for  his  text  the  class  motto,  "Walk  as  Children  of  Light."  It  was 
very  able  .and  scholarly,  and  was  delivered  with  unusual  animation 
and  power. 

103 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Bishop  Talbot,  who,  though  he  has  a  school  of  his  own,  always 
wears  St.  Mary's  colors,  came  on  the  Monday  morning  train,  with 
many  visitors,  and  with  his  genial  ways  and  pleasant  words  the 
afternoon  passed  quickly  away.  By  half  past  five  Bishop  Burgess 
arrived,  with  an  avalanche  of  friends  accompanying  him.  It  was 
his  first  visit  to  St.  Mary's,  and  he  was  received  with  quite  an  ovation, 
and  was  soon  at  home  with  both  pupils  and  guests.  He  has  a  fine 
presence,  and  the  manners  of  a  Christian  gentleman,  and  made  a 
most  agreeable  impression  upon  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 

In  the  evening,  there  was  service,  sermon,  and  confirmation  at 
St.  John's.  Bishop  Burgess,  without  any  notes,  preached  an  eloquent 
sermon  upon  "The  Cloud  of  Witnesses."  He  is  a  ready  speaker,  and 
held  the  undivided  attention  of  the  congregation  from  first  to  last. 
Most  of  them  heard  him  for  the  first  time,  and  his  words  seemed  to 
them  as  "apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver."  Five  of  the  pupils  of  the 
school  were  confirmed  by  Bishop  Burgess,  his  first  confirmation  in  the 
diocese.  It  was  a  most  impressive  service,  and  the  Bishop  made  an 
admirable  address  to  the  candidates. 

Reunion  Day,  1878 

TUESDAY,  the  nth,  was  Reunion  Day.  Holy  Communion 
was  administered  at  St.  John's  Church  at  7  A.M.  by  Dr. 
Leffingwell,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rudd.  At  ten  o'clock  Study 
Hall  was  well  filled,  and  an  interesting  programme  was  carried  out. 
The  Poem,  by  Miss  Dukes,  which  was  warmly  received,  had  for 
its  subject,  Reunion  Day,  and  was  in  the  nature  of  a  salutatory. 
The  Record  of  the  First  Year,  by  Miss  Hitchcock,  was  written  eight 
years  ago,  and  was  especially  interesting  on  the  tenth  anniversary. 
We  could  thus  see,  not  only  whereunto,  but  from  what,  St.  Mary's 
had  grown.  "Our  Bells"  was  arranged  for  a  trio  of  voices,  and  the 
reading  of  it  was  much  applauded.  Indeed,  we  may  say  here  that 
in  all  the  exercises  we  were  particularly  struck  with  the  elocution. 
"The  Days  of  the  Palladium/'  by  Miss  Ida  Burrows,  of  '74,  went 
home  to  all  hearts.  The  Palladium  was  St.  Mary's  newspaper,  a  map 
and  chronicle  of  school  life,  now,  alas,  "submerged"  in  The  Province. 
It  was  full  of  fun  and  incident,  such  as,  despite  "mathematics  and 
rising  bells,"  belong  to  a  girls'  school,  and  as  the  resume  of  Miss 
Burrows  brought  out  one  remembrance  after  another,  and  gave  the 
names  of  some  of  the  notable  girls  of  other  days,  it  seemed  to  possess 
a  fascination  for  all,  and  Bishops  and  Doctors  could  not  but  smile 

104 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

at  some  of  the  school  pranks.  The  Poem,  by  Miss  Wilson,  of  '70, 
the  first  valedictorian  of  St.  Mary's,  was  a  revery  of  the  past  and 
future,  and  was  greatly  admired.  It  was  followed  by  In  Memoriam, 
a  tribute  by  Miss  Hitchcock  to  the  dead  of  the  year.  As  soon  as  the 
title  was  announced,  the  whole  audience  arose,  and  remained  standing 
while  it  was  read  by  Miss  Williamson,  of  Quincy. 

We  ought  not  to  forget,  as  a  part  of  the  exercises  of  Reunion  day, 
the  baptism,  by  Bishop  Talbot,  of  Hortense  Nesbit,  the  infant 
daughter  of  Dr.  Leffingwell.  We  need  not  say  she,  being  one  of 
St.  Mary's  girls,  "behaved  beautiful."  We  could  not  get  any  proper 
description  of  her  costume  for  this  issue,  and  can  only  say  it  was 
embroidered  and  white,  and  somewhat  longer  than  ladies  now  wear 
them  in  the  metropolis. 

At  one  o'clock  lunch,  hunger  being  satisfied,  the  Rector  proceeded 
to  make  the  visitors  pay  for  it  by  a  speech.  Bishop  Talbot  responded 
to  the  sentiment,  "Bishop  Talbot,  our  beloved  step-father;  may  he 
long  continue  to  step  over  to  the  music  of  St.  Mary's  Belles."  He 
was  most  happy  in  his  remarks.  Bishop  Burgess  was  called  up  by  the 
sentiment,  "Bishop  Burgess,  the  nearest,  and  may  he  be  the  dearest 
of  our  three  fathers  in  the  province  of  Illinois."  His  remarks  were 
appropriate,  and  he  was  warmly  applauded.  Dr.  Cushman  was  called 
up  to  respond  to  "The  Day  we  Celebrate;  the  Tenth  Anniversary." 
Speeches  were  also  made  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Holcomb,  Benedict,  Mor- 
row, and  Dr.  Lloyd.  They  were  "from  grave  to  gay,  from  lively  to 
severe,"  and  though  the  lunch  continued  long,  there  was  evidently 
great  reluctance  to  break  up.  During  the  intervals  the  Knoxville 
cornet  band  discoursed  music  upon  the  lawn. 

In  the  evening  a  reception  was  given  in  the  beautiful  and  spacious 
parlors  of  St.  Mary's.  They  were  filled  with  the  school  and  citizens 
of  Knoxville  and  guests  from  abroad.  The  studio  and  study  were 
thrown  open ;  an  opportunity  was  given  to  examine  the  many  articles 
of  what  Mrs.  Malaprop  calls  "bigotry  and  virtue,"  there  collected. 
Some  of  the  works  of  art,  statuary  and  paintings,  are  very  beautiful. 
An  impromptu  addition  to  the  programme  was  a  High  Art  Supper. 
The  service  was  china,  mostly  decorated  by  the  young  ladies.  It  was 
a  late  hour  when  the  last  of  the  guests  had  departed.  The  evening 
had  been  unusually  enjoyable,  and  not  the  least  of  its  attractions  was 
the  music,  vocal  and  instrumental.  We  think  its  echoes  must  still  be 
heard  beneath  those  lofty  walls.  The  voices  were  as  sweet  as  the 
ringing  of  bells. 

105 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Graduates'  Day 

THE  morning  trains  brought  still  more  friends  of  St.  Mary's, 
and  it  must  have  been  quite  a  problem  to  know  what  to  do  with 
them.  There  were  fifty  guests  at  least  at  St.  Mary's,  and  we  think 
every  house  in  town  must  have  opened  its  hospitable  doors.  Long 
before  ten  o'clock,  Study  Hall  was  well  filled  with  citizens  and 
visitors,  who  had  come  to  witness  the  interesting  exercises. 

When  the  procession  reached  the  stage  it  opened  right  and  left, 
and  the  two  files  extended  the  entire  distance  from  the  stage  to  the 
door.  The  procession  entered  in  reverse  order;  first,  the  Bishops  and 
dignitaries,  and  then  the  school.  When  the  Bishops,  clergy,  and 
faculty  had  taken  their  seats  upon  the  platform,  and  the  students 
the  places  reserved  for  them,  every  inch  of  space  was  filled,  and 
many  could  not  get  in  at  all;  many  stood  in  the  hall,  and  many 
went  away. 

Appended  to  the  last  essay  of  the  interesting  programme  were  the 
valedictory  addresses,  in  which  Miss  Williamson  bade  farewell  to 
the  Bishops,  to  Dr.  Leffingwell  and  the  teachers,  to  her  class,  and 
to  St.  Mary's.  They  were  very  touching  and  beautiful,  and  were 
delivered  with  a  pathos  that  brought  tears  to  many  eyes  not  only 
in  the  school,  but  in  the  audience.  She  spoke  of  her  school-mates 
as  Argonauts,  searching  for  the  Golden  Fleece  in  the  staunch  good 
ship  St.  Mary's,  with  Dr.  Leffingwell  for  the  leader  and  captain; 
the  bond  that  united  them  would  never  be  severed;  they  were  St. 
Mary's  children  still,  though  now  constrained  to  say,  Alma  Mater, 
Fare  thee  well.  When  she  closed,  there  was  a  moment's  pause,  a 
hushed  stillness,  for  she  had  touched  the  heart,  and  then  came  loud 
applause  and  flowers  that  spoke  their  own  language. 

The  class  of  '78  then  knelt  upon  the  dais  before  the  Rector, 
who  placed  upon  their  necks  the  Golden  Cross  of  St.  Mary's,  and 
putting  his  hand  upon  the  head  of  each,  he  said,  with  deep  solemnity 
and  feeling,  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart;"  this  is  the  motto  of 
the  school.  They  were  three,  as  the  first  class  was  three,  and  in  their 
innocence  and  youth  might  well  remind  all  who  saw  them  of  the 
graces  of  classic  story,  or  rather  of  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity,  the 
Christian  triad,  the  graces  of  St.  Paul. 

The  Bishop  of  Quincy  then  presented  diplomas  to  the  graduates: 
Mary  C.  May,  Maude  I.  Burrows,  Helen  M.  Williamson.  He 
addressed  the  class,  speaking  extemporaneously  and  with  remarkable 
beauty  of  thought  and  diction,  substantially  as  follows: 

106 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

My  dear  young  friends,  this  is  graduation,  a  step,  gradus,  from  St. 
Mary's  out  into  the  world,  into  a  greater  degree  of  independence  in  life, 
but  it  should  be  a  change  of  plane,  a  step,  not  downward,  but  upward. 
The  past  is  past,  and  will  be  in  memory,  but  it  will  live,  and  the  treasures 
it  has  gathered.  Of  the  future  none  can  prophesy,  except  that  you  can  make 
it  successful  and  blessed.  Your  well-chosen  class  motto,  "Walk  as  children 
of  the  light,"  will  lead  you  safely.  You  are  to  walk,  not  after  any  light  from 
beneath  earth  or  from  any  evil  source,  but  after  light  from  the  Lord.  This 
light  you  have  found  in  science,  and  history,  and  experience.  It  is  in  a 
hundred  places  of  earth.  But  the  source  and  blessedness  are  where  it  dwells, 
as  "seven  lamps  of  fire  before  the  throne,"  descending  thence  to  us  as  the 
"seven-fold  Spirit  of  God." 

I  have  said  I  cannot  prophesy,  but  I  will  wish  to  Helen  the  very  opposite 
of  that  vain,  light,  treacherous,  changing  spirit  of  the  beautiful  Helen  of 
the  ancients.  May  our  Helen  bring  peace,  purity,  and  union  wherever  her 
lot  may  be  cast.  To  Maude,  the  fuller  name  is  Margaret,  the  pearl  or  daisy, 
I  wish  all  that  the  title  signifies;  may  she  be  a  treasure  and  lovely  flower 
all  through  her  future.  Your  name,  Mary,  at  first  presents  thoughts  of  the 
bitter  and  trying,  as  its  derivation  declares,  but  for  the  sake  of  St.  Mary — 

"Blessed  she  of  all  creation, 
Who  brought  forth  the  world's   salvation," 

this  name  is  a  favorite,  and  prophesies  of  humility,  peace,  and  grace. 

Go  out,  dear  friends,  and  be  true  to  the  teachings  and  high  influence  of 
St.  Mary's  School.  I  would  not  say  a  word  of  discouragement,  would  not 
cut  off  one  ray  of  the  hope  which  makes  happy  even  partings  at  your  age 
of  life.  Yet  be  not  disappointed  if  you  meet  not  the  returns  you  really 
deserve.  A  visitor  at  Strasburg  will  look  wonderingly  upon  the  cathedral, 
that  monument  of  true  religious  devotion  of  some  centuries  past.  He  will 
see,  as  he  walks  about  it,  many  beautiful  carvings  and  gracefully  cut  stones, 
but  when  he  has  climbed  up  into  the  high  towers,  and  yet  up  into  the  open 
spire,  he  will  see,  nearly  hidden  even  then,  the  finest  carving  in  the  cathedral. 
It  cannot  be  detected  from  the  ground  below.  It  was  made  by  a  woman,  and 
its  carving  consumed  years  of  her  life.  When  men  said  some  stone  should 
be  taken  away  from  a  lower,  conspicuous  place,  and  this  should  be  set 
where  all  eyes  could  see  and  admire,  she  replied,  "It  is  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord  and  His  holy  angels;  for  their  eyes  it  was  carved."  Do  what  you  do 
with  such  a  spirit,  and  you  will  not  be  disappointed.  "Whatever  you  do, 
in  word  or  deed,  do  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  for  His  cause  and 
glory. 

Pergite  fuellae  dilectae  et  fideles;  vita  brevis,  froemia  coeli  semplterna. 

Again  the  class  kneeled  upon  the  dais,  and  Bishop  Talbot  blessed 
them  with  The  Peace  of  God ;  the  procession  was  re-formed,  and  filed 
out  to  the  music  of  the  recessional  hymn;  and  St.  Mary's  tenth  year 
was  ended.  Dinner  followed,  and  that  it  might  be  enjoyed  the  more, 
Dr.  Leffingwell,  during  the  course  of  it,  read  a  congratulatory  poem, 

107 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

addressed  to  the  Class  of  '78,  by  Miss  Laning,  of  '76,  who  is  at 
Hot  Springs,  Arkansas.  By  acclamation,  it  was  voted  to  send  con- 
gratulations to  the  Bishop  of  Springfield,  at  whose  consecration 
Bishop  McLaren  was  present  in  New  York  and  so  could  not  be  at 
St.  Mary's  decennial  celebration. 


IN  MEMORIAM 
By  Miss  Hitchcock 

Read  on  Reunion  Day  at  St.  Mary's,  June  1878 

THAT  were  an  imperfect  record  of  the  past  ten  years  that  gave 
no  words  of  tender  memory  to  those  associated  with  our  school 
life,  whom  God  hath  taken.  Let  us  then,  in  the  midst  of  happy 
retrospect,  recall  the  names  of  the  honored  and  beloved  dead;  not 
to  mar  the  joy  of  reunion  by  sorrowful  thoughts,  but  rather  to  renew 
the  thanksgiving  of  our  Mother  the  Church,  for  those  departed 
hence  in  the  Lord,  and  for  whom  she  teaches  us  "not  to  be  sorry 
as  those  without  hope." 

It  is  nearly  four  years  since  our  first  and  well  beloved  Bishop 
exchanged  the  staff  for  the  palm;  the  mitre  for  the  star-studded 
crown.  St.  Mary's  girls  of  earlier  days  will  ever  remember  him, 
not  only  as  the  great  prelate  whose  praise  is  in  all  the  churches, 
but  as  the  father-in-God,  beloved,  as  well  as  revered. 

St.  Mary's  School  remembers,  today,  him  whose  presence  is  for 
the  first  time  wanting  upon  one  of  her  high  days,  Dr.  Chase,  St. 
Mary's  true  and  early  friend.  Few  would  have  rejoiced  more  un- 
f eignedly  in  this  reunion ;  few  would  have  been  greeted  more  warmly 
by  those  who  have  come  back  to  renew  the  associations  of  the  happy 
past.  But  the  Lord  has  called  him  to  higher  joys  in  the  home  of 
God's  elect. 

Mr.  Knox,  too,  has  passed  away;  he  to  whose  benefactions  St. 
Mary's  School  owes  so  much.  A  liberal  man,  he  devised  for  St. 
Mary's  School  liberal  things;  and  it  is  fitting  that,  upon  this  day,  we 
bring  a  grateful  tribute  to  his  memory. 

Mr.  Allen,  St.  Mary's  genial  neighbor  and  friend;  he  was  wont 
to  say  that  St.  Mary's  School  was  to  him  a  second  home.  Here, 
indeed,  was  his  presence  a  valued  one,  and  we  grieve  to  miss  him 
today. 

108 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

From  the  Alumnae  one  is  gone,  a  member  of  the  first  graduating 
class,  "St.  Mary's  much  loved  three."  Ada  Runkle  was  tenderly 
beloved,  her  memory  is  as  tenderly  cherished  by  her  teachers  and 
school-mates.  Dear  Ada!  Pure  wert  thou  in  heart,  and  to  thee  has 
come  the  beatitude  promised  to  such,  "They  shall  see  God." 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hester ;  we  miss  them  from  the  little  church  where 
their  fragrant  flowers  were  wont  to  breathe  on  festal  days  sweet 
incense  from  chalked  lips.  They  sleep  beneath  the  English  violets  in 
God's  Acre. 

Bessie  Cowell,  Annie  Lockwood,  Winifred  Murphy,  Lizzie 
Pulsifer,  Ella  Young,  little  Katie  Lewis,  Belle  Culbertson,  Lizzie 
Wheeler,  Virginia  Davis,  and  Maggie  McCracken.  Concerning  some 
of  these  beloved  ones,  the  sad  message  came  to  St.  Mary's  that  they 
were  no  more.  For  others,  their  teachers  and  school-mates  had  the 
sad  privilege  of  paying  the  last  hallowed  rites  at  the  open  grave. 

Once,  and  once  only,  has  the  death-angel  entered  these  doors; 
and  it  was  then  to  take  a  tenderly  beloved  lamb  of  the  flock,  Bertha, 
the  Rector's  gentle  little  daughter. 

Old  men  and  maidens!  Those,  in  the  dew  of  the  morning,  the 
early  lost  the  early  saved;  those  at  shut  of  even,  bringing  their 
sheaves  with  them.  The  noble  prelate,  the  faithful  priest,  the  large- 
hearted  benefactor,  the  gentle  wearer  of  St.  Mary's  Cross,  the  pure- 
hearted  girls,  St.  Mary's  early  gathered  lilies,  the  darling  child,  the 
lamb  of  the  flock;  these  St.  Mary's  School  remembers  today  with  a 
sadness  that  is  not  all  pain.  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart  for  they 
shall  see  God,"  was  St.  Mary's  early  motto. 

The  sweetest  canticle,  saith  Lord  Bacon,  is  Nunc  Dimittis,  "when 
a  man  hath  obtained  worthy  ends  and  expectations."  Such  well-earned 
dismissal  from  life's  toilsome  harvest  field  has  been  the  evensong 
of  St.  Mary's  honored  and  now  departed  friends. 

"For   all    thy   saints    who   from   their   labors    rest, 
Thy  Name,  O  Jesus,  be  forever  blest." 


109 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
A  "CITIZENS'  RECEPTION" 

WHEN  the  cat's  away  the  mice  may  play."  This  time,  how- 
ever, it  was  the  mice  that  were  away,  and  it  was  the  cat  that — 
but  we  must  drop  this  figure,  for  we  clearly  see  it  cannot  be 
sustained  without  leading  to  awkward  complications.  In  plain  prose, 
one  evening  during  the  holidays,  the  school  not  being  in  session,  there 
was  held  at  St.  Mary's  what  the  Knox  Republican  in  a  full  and  lively 
account  thereof,  calls  a  "Citizens'  Reception,"  the  object  of  which 
was  to  give  the  people  of  Knoxville  an  opportunity  to  inspect  the 
interior  of  the  building,  under  the  pleasant  conditions  of  bright 
lights,  Christmas  decorations,  inspiring  music  from  Palmer's  Cornet 
Band,  goodly  company  in  the  drawing  room,  wise  and  witty  speech- 
making  in  the  study  hall,  while  in  the  dining  room,  oysters  and  coffee 
appealed  to  the  inner  man. 

We  hope  the  citizens  enjoyed  themselves;  the  Knox  Republican 
says  they  did,  and  that  there  were  several  hundred  of  them  to  do  it. 
To  the  archives  of  that  paper,  then,  we  refer  the  curious,  this 
Citizens'  Reception  (and  herein  we  feel  ourselves  aggrieved)  having 
taken  place  when  we  were  absent  for  the  holidays. 

To  be  sure  we  ought  to  have  been  here,  and  here  we  should  have 
been,  had  this  reception  taken  place  in  term  time.  By  what  fell 
machination  it  was  appointed  to  be  held  in  the  holidays,  we  leave 
others  to  inquire. 

Yet  while  laying  aside  all  consideration  of  personal  grievance,  we 
submit  that  there  is  abundant  occasion  for  two  distinct  and  well 
sustained  indignation  meetings,  one  on  the  part  of  the  "citizens"  who, 
confiding  souls  that  they  were,  were  treated  to  the  play  of  Hamlet 
with  Hamlet  left  out,  to  a  peep  at  St.  Mary's  School  without  its 
scholars,  to  inspect  the  "garden"  without  the  "rosebuds";  to  accept 
notes  from  brazen  instruments  instead  of  "silver-trebled  laughter" 
from  scores  of  merry  girls.  Were  there  no  "citizens"  whose  youthful 
blood  rebelled  against  such  "reception"? 

Another  indignation  meeting  might  find  a  place  at  St.  Mary's  it- 
self, among  the  injured  innocents  returned  after  the  holidays.  "The 
house  thrown  open  to  the  gay  world,"  "a  band  of  music  in  the  study 
hall,"  "citizens  in  drawing  room,  study,  and  library,"  "oysters  and 
coffee  in  the  dining  room,"  with  more  citizens,  and  all  this  in  the 
absence  of  the  school!  Why  could  not  all  this  festivity  have  been 
reserved  until  it  might  have  relieved  the  tedium  of  student  life  ?  How 
agreeable  a  change  from  study  hour  were  a  "Citizens'  Reception" ! 

no 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 


THE  BELLS  OF  ST.  MARY'S 

By  Nancy  Meneely  Hitchcock 

(With  apologies  to  Edgar  Allen  Poe) 

HARK !  the  clangour  of  the  bell,  The  Rising  Bell  ! 
What  a  world  of  woe,  its  first  tone  doth  foretell ! 

How  it  jangles,  jangles,  jangles, 
On  the  drowsy  ear  of  morn, 

When  the  stars  that  oversprinkle 

All  the  heavens  have  ceased  to  twinkle, 

And  its  clangour  is  forlorn; 

While  up  and  down  the  halls 

With  brazen  tongue  it  calls: 
"Time  to  rise; 
Ope  your  eyes!" 
And  by  some  early  bird,  words  like  these  are  gaily  said : 

"Maude,  'tis  time  for  waking; 

Can't  you  get  up  without  shaking?" 

"Are  you  dreaming,  Bessie,  dreaming? 

Or  is  it  only  seeming?" 
"Time  it  is  that  all  but  lazy  folk 

Were  getting  out  of  bed." 

"Do  not,  Mary,  be  foolhardy; 

Why  risk  your  being  tardy?" 
"Rouse  up!  Flora,  Winnie,  Fannie, 

Julia,  Lizzie,  Helen,  Annie;" 
While  a  tintinabulation,  most  unmusical  doth  well, 

Like  a  howl  of  tribulation 

From  the  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell; 

The  harsh  pealing,  the  unfeeling  Rising  Bell. 


h 


ARK !  the  mellow  Breakfast  Bell  ! 

The  aroma  of  good  coffee,  from  the  kitchen  now  doth 
well. 
Hark,  the  echo  through  the  halls ! 
How  its  cheerful  jingle  calls 
To  the  maidens  who  come  skipping, 
From  the  upper  stories  tripping; 

m 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

And  the  bell,  unto  their  seeming, 

Is  in  tune. 
They  have  wakened  from  their  dreaming 

None  too  soon. 
But  harsh  clangour  is  each  note 

To  the  tardy,  the  fool-hardy, 
Who  have  tarried;  how  it  tells 

Of  the  hurry  that  compels 
All  to  hasten  at  the  ringing  of  the  bells. 

Hear  one  speak 

In  a  shriek, 
In  a  clamorous  appealing  to  the  mercy  of  her  mates: 

"Carrie,  will  you  hook  my  dress?" 

"I'll  be  late  myself,  I  guess, 
Would  you  have  me  linger  till  I  hear  ascending,  the  clatter 
of  the  plates?" 

"I  should  like  to  know 

Who  has  got  my  bow!" 
"Good!  the  bell  keeps  ringing. 
Hasten  while  it  yet  is  swinging, 
(You  can  fasten  on  that  ribbon  as  down  the  stairs  you  go)." 
"We  are  yet  in  time,  yet  in  time, 
And  our  merry  voices  chime 
With  the  ringing  and  the  swinging  of  the  bell," 
Of  the  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell," 
To  the  swinging  and  the  ringing  of  the  Breakfast  Bell. 

HEAR  the  bells  so  frequent  jingling — 
Recitation  Bells! 
Much  of  good  and  ill  commingling, 
Their  sharp,  oft  repeated  tingling 

Ever  tells: 

Perturbation,  irritation, 
For  a  lesson  poorly  learned ; 

Animation, 

Exultation, 
With  the  tables  turned. 
See  the  damsels  in  a  flurry! 
How  they  hurry,  hurry,  hurry! 
Now  to  grammar  class  they  go 

In  a  row, 

Quaking, 

Shaking, 
If  perchance  the  lesson  they  are  sure  they  do  not  know. 

112 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Oh !  the  worry !  Oh !  the  worry ! 

For  Miss  H.  will  not  be  gentle 

If  we  show  no  fibre  mental; 

And  there  is  tribulation 

In  each  French  conjugation, 

And  in  Latin,  agitation 

If  we  cannot  say  A  mo. 
Oh!  'tis  best  to  know  each  lesson, 
And  in  learning's  path  to  press  on, 
Then  'twill  never  be  a  hardship 
That  compels  us  to  hasten  at  the  jingling  of  the  bells. 
Of  the  bells, 

Of  the  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bells, 

At  the  jingling  and  the  tingling 

Of  the  Recitation  Bells. 

HARK!  the  cheerful  Dinner  Bell! 
Welcome  bell! 
That  studying  is  hungry  work,  we  all  do  know  full  well. 
From  the  school  room  come  they  skipping, 
Down  the  basement  stairs  they're  tripping; 
Hungry  come  they  now  from  History, 
And  indeed  it  is  no  mystery 
That  only  heathen  Arabs  can  live  on  naught  but  dates. 
"Tell  me  now,  I  pray, 
Have  we  soup  today?" 
"Pies-and-things,  I  reckon ;  for  there  are  dessert  plates." 
Oh!  'tis  well 
It  is  noon! 
And  the  bell 
Is  in  tune ; 
For  the  pot-pies'  savory  smell 

Doth  impel 
All  to  hasten  at  the  ringing 

Of  the  bell, 
Of  the  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell; 
At  the  swinging  and  the  ringing 
Of  the  mellifluous  Dinner  Bell. 


h 


ARK!  the  Vesper  Bell  that  calleth 
Us  to  prayer. 
On  the  ear  it  gently  f  alleth  ; 
Haste  we  where 

ii3 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Youthful  voices  raise 

Songs  of  praise ; 
List  each  dear  familiar  strain: 
"For  the  blessings  of  the  light, 
Glory  be  to  Thee  this  night;" 
"Lord,  with  us  abide 
At  the  even-tide ; 
For  we  need  Thy  presence  both  in  joy  and  pain." 
"While  the  light  of  day 
Fades  from  us  away, 
Jesus  from  the  sky, 
Look  with  pitying  eye." 
See  the  shadows  deep 

In  the  room; 
Evening  near  doth  creep, 
Without  gloom; 
While  on  bended  knees  we  say, 
"Lighten,  Lord,  our  darkness;"  and  we  pray 
"Angels  to  us  send: 
Lord  from  ill  defend." 
Hallowed  is  the  place  of  prayer. 
And  we  gladly  gather  there. 
Memory  oft  shall  weave  a  spell, 
And  shall  tell 
Of  the  blessed  moments  loved  so  well, 
When  no  more  we  gather  at  the  ringing  of  the  bell, 
Of  the  bell  that  called  to  prayer 
When  the  twilight  shadows  fell. 

HEAR  at  last  the  tingling 
Of  the  Retiring  Bell! 
What  a  putting  out  of  lights  its  jingling 
Doth  compel! 

How  it  tingles,  tingles,  tingles, 
On  the  drowsy  ear  of  night; 
While  with  each  tone  there  mingles 
Many  a  fond  good-night; 
Soft  the  dews  of  sleep 
Weary  eyelids  steep. 
Let  deep  silence  peaceful  brood  o'er  all, 
When  the  tingle  of  the  bell  upon  the  ear  doth  fall. 
Sweet  repose  we'll  take 
'Neath  the  moon; 
And  at  morn  awake 
All  in  tune; 

114 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Even  though  a  jangling 
Each  golden  dream  dispels, 
And  we  hear  again  the  wrangling 
Of  the  bells, 
Of  the  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bells, 
The  wrangling  and  the  jangling  of  the  bells. 

OH!  ye  people,  ye  good  people, 
Ye  will  find  in  many  a  steeple 

Larger  bells. 
Bells  that  toll,  toll,  toll, 

While  they  roll 
Echoes  on  the  listening  ear  of  night ; 
But  if  you  delight 
In  a  tintinabulation  that  from  morn  till  evening  swells, 
You  may  find  it  at  St.  Mary's  in  the  bells. 

In  the  bells, 
In  the  jingling,  tinkling  bells, 
In  the  clanging,  twanging  bells; 
You  may  find  it  at  St.  Mary's 

In  the  swinging  and  the  ringing 
Of  the  bells; 
In  the  wrangle,  jangle,  jingle, 
In  the  tinkle,  tangle,  tinkle, 

Of  the  bells, 
Of  the  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bells, 
You  may  find  it  at  St.  Mary's  in  the  bells. 

SOON  we'll  utter  our  farewells 
To  the  bells. 
For  we  live  in  expectation 
Of  the  coming  of  vacation, 
Which  we'll  hail  with  exultation; 
And  we'll  shout, 
"School  is  out!" 
Then  farewell  to  tribulation! 
No  more  with  perturbation 
We  shall  listen  to  the  jingling  of  the  bells, — 
Feel  no  more  agitation 
At  the  call  to  recitation, 
When  summoned  by  the  tingling  of  the  bells; 
By  the  jingle,  jangle,  jingle, 
And  the  ringle,  rangle,  ringle, 
And  the  tingle,  tangle,  tingle, 

115 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Of  the  bells, 
Yes,  we'll  utter  our  farewells 

To  the  bells; 
To  the  clanging  and  the  twanging 

Of  the  bells, 
To  the  swinging  and  the  ringing 

Of  the  bell,  bell,  bells; 
To  the  wrangling  and  the  jangling 
To  the  jingling  and  the  tingling 

Of  the  bells. 
Yes,  we'll  hail  with  animation, 
We  will  hail  with  much  elation, 
The  last  reverberation, 

Of  the  bells, 
Of  the  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bell,  bells. 
The  very  last  vibration 

Of  the  bells. 


"BE  STRONG  IN  THE  LORD" 

THE  Baccalaureate  sermon  of  1880  was  preached  by  the  Rector, 
taking  for  his  text  the  class  motto,  "Be  Strong  in  the  Lord." 
The  address  was  an  exposition  of  what  true  strength  consists  in. 
One  feature  pleased  us:  The  class  were  directed  to  the  strength 
which  they  needed  as  human  beings.  As  such  they  were  exhorted 
to  seek  the  fullest  development  of  their  powers,  "the  loftiest  person- 
ality and  the  noblest  character  that  is  possible  to  humanity  in  this 
world."  The  Rector  of  St.  Mary's  has  too  thorough  a  respect  for 
those  he  is  training,  to  fall  into  platitudes  concerning  "Woman's 
Sphere,"  to  which  we  have  often  listened  on  such  occasions  else- 
where. We  cannot  give  as  we  would  like  to  do,  the  whole  sermon; 
but  must  find  room  for  a  few  paragraphs: 

Be  strong  in  the  Lord.  This  is  the  strength  you  have  chosen,  well-beloved 
of  the  Class  of  '80!  God  help  you  to  trust  in  it  more  and  more.  In  this 
strength  you  have  been  nurtured  at  home  and  at  school ;  but  you  must  not 
expect  to  find  it  so  honored  and  sought  by  the  world-at-large.  You  will 
see  around  you  the  struggle  for  earthly  place  and  power;  men  and  women 
boasting  themselves  strong  by  reason  of  worldly  goods,  social  position,  beauty 
of  person,  excellence  of  speech,  readiness  of  wit,  profundity  of  learning. 
Be  not  dismayed  by  all  this.  Be  not  distracted  from  your  purpose,  proclaimed 
by  the  unfurling  of  your  banner  today,  to  stand  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord, 
to  win  your  victories  by  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  and  under  the  shield  of 
Faith. 

Il6 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

You  will  be  sorely  tempted  sometimes  to  use  the  weapons  of  the  world, 
and  to  trust  in  human  qualities  that  seem  to  bring  gain  and  popularity. 
Beware!  such  popularity  is  a  snare;  such  gain  is  a  delusion.  It  is  easily 
won;  but  what  is  it  worth?  It  does  not  bring  self-respect;  it  does  not  com- 
mand the  esteem  of  the  high-minded  and  honorable  among  men;  it  is  not 
acceptable  to  God.  Seek  not  to  dazzle  as  a  meteor,  but  seek  to  shine  as  a 
star  in  the  firmament  of  faithful  souls.  What  if  the  vain  and  empty-minded 
pass  you  by,  and  seek  the  companionship  of  those  as  hollow-hearted  as 
themselves?  Their  praise  or  blame  is  as  the  whistling  of  the  wind  to  one 
who  sits  enthroned  in  the  embattled  tower  of  the  Lord's  righteousness. 

Be  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  Lord's  work,  dear  daughters  of  St. 
Mary's;  and  may  He  sustain  you  in  all  your  ministrations,  and  give  you 
an  abundant  entrance  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  His  dear  Son. 
We  may  not  all  meet  again  in  the  Lord's  house  on  earth,  but  when  our 
school  of  life  is  ended,  and  we  are  called  home  to  the  vacation  rest  of 
Paradise,  may  there  be  missing  no  one  of  the  precious  souls  that  have 
composed  the  happy  circle  of  our  School. 


THE  MILLER'S  CHILD 

THERE'S  a  dear  little  maid,  living  down  by  the  mill, 
Her  eyes,  like  the  violets  sweet,  are  of  blue, 
Her  hair  is  as  golden  as  the  wheat  on  the  hill, 
And  her  face  is  loving,  tender,  and  true. 

She  talks  to  the  brooklet  that  flows  by  her  home, 
And  she  sails  little  chips  down  its  eddying  tide; 

How  she  laughs  as  she  looks  at  the  froth  and  the  foam 
That  the  wheel  in  impatience  is  pushing  aside! 

She  loves  all  the  flowers  that  grow  on  the  hill, 

As  she  sees  with  delight  every  beautiful  hue ; 
Of  the  birds  in  the  trees  is  this  maid  fonder  still, 

Of  the  red-breast  and  all  the  glad,  bright  feathered  crew. 

In  her  quiet  old  home  she  is  happy  and  gay, 

And  she  lives  such  an  innocent,  artless  life, 
With  her  prattle  and  song,  and  her  sweet  girlish  way, 

That  she  brightens  the  lot  of  the  miller  and  wife. 

— Alice  Chandler, 


117 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
MR.  SAXE  AND  MR.  WRAXE 

MR.  JOHN  G.  SAXE,  on  the  occasion  of  his  reading  before 
the  Literary  Society  of  Knoxville,  was  the  guest  of  the 
Rector  of  St.  Mary's.  Considerable  curiosity  was  aroused  in  anticipa- 
tion of  his  arrival,  as  many  had  never  seen  a  "live  poet,"  saving  the 
native  specimens  that  flourish  in  the  genial  soil  of  this  "rosebud 
garden."  Some  of  them,  we  suspect,  had  formed  their  idea  of  a  poet 
from  pictures  of  troubadours  and  minne-singers,  and  were  disap- 
pointed when  Mr.  Saxe  appeared  in  a  great  coat  instead  of  a  flowing 
mantle,  carrying  a  carpet-bag  in  his  hand  instead  of  a  harp  slung 
gracefully  at  his  back. 

At  an  amusing  entertainment  given  by  one  of  the  classes,  a  few 
weeks  after,  came  a  clever  burlesque  on  Mr.  Saxe's  poem  on  Love, 
delivered  here  the  week  previous.  Nothing  was  forgotten.  Mr.  Leffing- 
well  had  introduced  Mr.  Saxe,  and  had  assisted  him  in  removing  his 
overcoat ;  all  this  was  faithfully  represented ;  even  the  coming  up  the 
aisle  with  the  umbrella  was  remembered.  There  was  prolonged  ap- 
plause at  every  happy  hit,  as  Mr.  Wraxe  proceeded  with  "What  I 
know  about  Love,"  stopping  occasionally  for  a  draught  of  water,  the 
invariable  custom  of  lecturers.  We  think  that  by  this  time  all  who 
have  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  Mr.  Saxe  and  Mr.  Wraxe  will  need 
no  further  information  on  the  subject  of  Love. 


118 


CHAPTER  IX 

rE  HAVE  HAD  our  Decennial !  Let  us  bless 
the  Lord,  who  brought  us  to  great  honor 
and  comforted  us  on  every  side.  From  the 
glorious  celebration  with  which  the  tenth 
year  closed  we  take  new  hope  and  firmer  faith.  God 
helping  us,  the  future  shall  see  even  greater  things  than 
we  rejoiced  over  yesterday.  Well  it  was  for  us  then,  that 
we  did  not  know  and  could  not  imagine  what  the  second 
decennial  would  bring  forth.  To  have  known  it  all  in 
advance,  our  hearts  would  have  failed  us,  our  hands 
would  have  been  paralyzed. 

The  story  of  the  first  decade  of  St.  Mary's  has  been 
given  with  more  detail  than  can  be  allowed  for  the 
period  which  follows.  We  have  watched  the  growth 
and  have  rejoiced  in  the  maturity  of  the  work,  and  now 
for  a  time  we  shall  attend  more  to  the  interior  life  of 
the  School,  and  glimpses  of  this  we  shall  get  from  the 
school  magazine;  sketches  and  reports  written  "on 
the  spot";  descriptions  of  the  school  life  as  seen  by 
those  who  lived  it.  I  hope  it  will  not  seem  trite  or  tire- 
some. 

Of  course  there  is  nothing  very  picturesque  or  excit- 
ing in  the  "daily  round,  the  common  task"  of  school 
girls,  but  it  seems  to  me  most  people  would  enjoy  going 
behind  the  scenes  a  little,  to  get  an  inside  view  of  their 
interesting  community  life.  Mark  Twain,  referring  to 

119 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 

the  inclusion  of  trifling  details,  in  his  autobiography, 
says: 

"That  is  what  human  life  consists  of — little  incidents  and  big 
incidents,  and  they  are  all  of  the  same  size  if  we  let  them  alone.  An 
autobiography  that  leaves  out  the  little  things  and  enumerates  only 
the  big  ones  is  no  proper  picture  of  the  man's  life  at  all;  his  life 
consists  of  his  feelings  and  his  interests,  with  here  and  there  an 
incident  apparently  big  or  little  to  hang  the  feelings  on." 

WITH  the  reopening  in  September,  1878,  our 
faculty  was  greatly  strengthened  by  the  engage- 
ment of  the  Rev.  Edward  H.  Rudd,  as  chaplain  and 
instructor.  His  talents  as  teacher  and  preacher  soon  won 
for  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  his  col- 
lege, and  the  appreciation  of  his  colleagues  both  in 
Church  and  School.  During  his  quarter  of  a  century 
service  at  St.  Mary's,  he  held  the  highest  place  of  honor 
and  trust  in  our  diocese  of  Quincy.  He  is  still,  at  this 
writing  (1926),  with  energy  and  devotion  serving  in 
a  neighboring  diocese.  In  1924  he  celebrated  his  jubilee 
in  the  priesthood. 

It  was  indeed  fortunate  for  me  that  in  those  crowded 
years  of  my  newspaper  and  school  work  I  had  such 
a  coadjutor  and  companion  as  Dr.  Rudd.  To  our  official 
relations  in  the  School  and  the  interests  of  personal 
friendship  was  added  the  tie  of  family  relation  by  his 
marriage  with  Miss  Francis,  sister  to  my  wife.  At  our 
summer  home  in  Michigan  and  cruising  on  the  Lakes 
we  spent  several  vacations  together,  of  which  his  nu- 
merous camera  studies  are  interesting  records.  Many  of 
the  illustrations  in  this  volume  are  reproductions  of  his 
sun-pictures.  Thousands  of  his  photographs  are  trea- 
sured in  the  memory  books  of  the  "old  girls."  Several  of 
the  popular  school  songs  and  hymns  were  written  by 
Dr.  Rudd. 

120 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

WE  were  also  fortunate  in  securing  for  the  Music 
Department,  at  this  time,  Carl  Laux,  a  teacher  of 
large  experience,  trained  in  the  best  schools  of  Germany, 
enthusiastic  in  his  work,  interested  in  his  pupils,  and 
beloved  by  all.  He  had  served  in  the  Union  Army  dur- 
ing the  whole  Civil  War. 

With  his  small  family,  Professor  Laux  lived  in  a 
cottage  on  the  school  grounds,  and  for  ten  years  con- 
ducted his  department  with  great  efficiency,  making  for 
St.  Mary's  a  name  and  reputation  for  musical  advan- 
tages. Only  a  few  days  before  his  death  he  was  giving 
lessons  and  planning  recitals.  A  brass  tablet  on  the 
credence  table  in  the  Chapel,  giving  dates  of  birth, 
death,  and  service  in  the  School,  bears  this  inscription : 
"Erected  by  his  Pupils."  One  of  his  old  pupils,  on  hear- 
ing of  his  decease,  wrote :  "I  have  just  heard  of  the  death 
of  Professor  Laux,  and  am  sure  all  St.  Mary's  girls 
feel  as  I  do;  that  they  have  lost  a  personal  friend.  Dear 
Professor!  he  is  associated  so  closely  in  my  mind  with 
St.  Mary's  that  I  never  can  think  of  them  apart." 

WHILE  we  were  celebrating  our  Decennial,  as 
has  been  noted,  Bishop  Alexander  Burgess  came 
to  us.  On  this  visit  he  confirmed  his  first  class  in  our 
new  Diocese  of  Quincy.  During  his  long  episcopate  of 
over  twenty  years  he  was  frequently  a  guest,  a  most 
welcome  guest,  at  St.  Mary's,  and  in  both  official  and 
social  relations  was  to  St.  Mary's  a  true  father  in  God. 
To  me,  personally,  he  was  most  sympathetic  and  help- 
ful, a  tactful  adviser  and  gentle  critic.  It  was  no  secret 
that  in  his  advancing  age  and  failing  health  he  favored 
my  election  as  his  coadjutor.  Fortunately  his  preference 
was  not  shared  by  a  majority  of  both  orders  in  the  Con- 
vention. I  visited  the  Bishop  in  his  last  illness,  at  his 

121 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

old  home  in  the  East.  Though  very  weak,  physically, 
his  mind  was  alert  and  clear.  To  my  salutation  in  Latin 
he  made  a  prompt  and  apt  reply  in  the  same  tongue. 

The  first  Bishop  of  Quincy  was  a  large  man,  both 
in  physical  and  mental  stature,  as  were  many  of  his 
contemporaries  among  the  clergy.  The  story  is  told  of 
two  (Dr.  McVickar  and  Dr.  Phillips  Brooks,  I  think) 
who  were  together  on  a  vacation  in  England  and  at- 
tended an  advertised  lecture  on  America  and  Ameri- 
cans. With  other  disparaging  remarks  about  the  people, 
the  lecturer  stated  that  while  very  active  and  energetic, 
American  men  were  rather  small,  physically  inferior 
to  the  average  Englishman.  This  brought  to  their  feet 
our  six-foot-four,  broad-shouldered  Churchmen.  Beg- 
ging pardon  of  the  speaker  for  the  interruption,  they 
informed  the  audience  that  they  were  Americans,  "per- 
haps a  trifle  undersize" ! 

THE  second  Bishop  of  Quincy,  Dr.  Frederick  Wil- 
liam Taylor,  was  consecrated  in  1901  and  died  in 
1903.  It  seemed  very  sad  to  us  who  had  known  him 
long  and  looked  for  so  great  blessing  upon  his  episco- 
pate, that  it  should  be  so  brief.  His  sudden  death  was 
unaccountable.  I  was  on  the  way  to  visit  him  in  the 
sanitarium  at  Kenosha,  where  he  had  gone  for  a  rest, 
when  a  friend  whom  I  met  on  the  train  told  me  the 
Bishop  was  dead.  Bishop  Taylor  was  my  very  dear 
friend,  known  and  loved  by  many  in  the  Diocese,  as 
his  work  had  been  in  Springfield,  near  us.  He  had  long 
been  a  helpful  trustee  of  St.  Mary's  School. 

BISHOP  SEYMOUR  of  Springfield  was,  for  many 
years,  a  trustee  of  the  School  and  presided  at  the 
graduation  of  several  classes.  His  genial  presence  was 

122 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

a  blessing,  and  his  wise  discourse  made  deep  and  lasting 
impression  upon  all  who  were  privileged  to  hear  him. 
Bishop  Hale,  his  coadjutor,  was  with  us  seldom,  and 
had  little  opportunity  to  be  known  and  appreciated  at 
St.  Mary's.  He  presided  at  the  graduation  of  one  class. 
All  the  bishops  of  the  three  dioceses  of  Illinois  were 
officially  related  to  the  School,  being  members  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  but  from  the  Bishop  of  our  own 
diocese  (Quincy)  of  course,  we  received  more  frequent 
official  and  personal  service.  We  naturally  speak  of  the 
Bishop  of  Quincy  as  "our  Bishop,"  and  are  more  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  him  than  with  others  of  the 
Board.  Bishop  Seymour,  Bishop  Anderson,  and  his  suf- 
fragan, Bishop  Griswold,  have  always  heartily  sustained 
and  personally  served  the  School  though  it  is  located  far 
beyond  the  boundaries  of  their  own  dioceses.  Their 
generous  cooperation  is  gratefully  recorded. 

THOUGH  these  "Early  Days"  relate  only  to  the 
first  quarter  century,  I  can  not  fail  to  make  grateful 
acknowledgment  of  the  helpful  service  that  Bishop 
Fawcett  of  Quincy  has  rendered  to  St.  Mary's.  Since  his 
consecration  in  1904,  during  all  these  years,  he  has 
spared  no  effort  to  honor  the  good  name  and  to  promote 
the  good  work  and  the  welfare  of  the  School.  Above 
all  do  we  owe  to  Bishop  Fawcett  the  selection  of  Dr. 
Carrington  to  succeed  the  first  Rector  of  St.  Mary's. 
The  importance  of  the  issue  cannot  be  overestimated, 
the  wisdom  of  the  choice  cannot  be  questioned.  It  was 
most  fortunate,  it  was  providential,  that  at  a  time  of 
great  depression,  at  the  culmination  of  the  World  War, 
when  many  schools  were  closed,  the  right  man  was 
found  to  take  up  and  carry  on  the  work  at  St.  Mary's. 
Laus  Deo! 

123 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

TO  one  Bishop  not  officially  related  to  the  School, 
but  always  interested  in  its  welfare,  even  from  the 
Early  Days  to  its  Semi-Centennial  and  beyond,  to  our 
late  Presiding  Bishop,  I  may  be  allowed  to  offer  a 
tribute  of  grateful  remembrance  and  profound  re- 
spect. 

Bishop  Tuttle  belonged  to  us  all,  and  in  his  great 
heart  there  was  room  for  all.  He  went  to  his  vast  mis- 
sionary field  in  the  far  West,  one  year  before  St.  Mary's 
began  her  missionary  work  on  the  prairies  of  Illinois. 
Before  the  School  was  known  even  in  Chicago,  students 
began  to  come  to  us  from  Salt  Lake  City,  and  for  many 
years  Bishop  Tuttle  was  represented  at  St.  Mary's. 
Two  of  his  girls  were  graduated  in  1875.  His  occasional 
visits  were  a  blessing  and  inspiration  to  us  all. 

The  following  commendation  the  Bishop  allowed 
me  to  include  in  our  School  Register: 

"I  have  been  at  St.  Mary's  School  and  through  its  rooms,  and 
have  watched  the  work  done.  In  fidelity  of  attention  to  the  girls 
committed  to  its  care,  in  observance  of  the  laws  of  health,  in  quiet, 
persistent  thoroughness  of  studies  and  recitations,  and  in  the  refined 
home  tone,  out  of  which  grow  the  peace  and  power  of  true  Christian 
womanliness,  it  is  not,  I  believe,  surpassed  by  any  school. 

"Daniel  S.  Tuttle." 

I  have  valued  this  Testimonial  very  highly.  Bishop 
Tuttle  speaks  not  only  as  an  appreciative  friend  of  St. 
Mary's,  but  also  as  an  experienced  educator,  a  teacher 
from  his  youth,  a  founder  and  manager  of  schools.  At 
St.  Mary's  he  was  quite  at  home,  observing  the  School 
at  work  and  at  play,  on  the  stage  and  behind  the  scenes. 
His  words  of  approval  are  among  the  crown  jewels  of 
our  Early  Days.  This  paragraph  from  his  Reminis- 
cences shows  his  practical  knowledge  of  the  difficul- 

124 


The  Rt.  Rev.  Daniel  Sylvester  Tuttle,  D.D.,  Primus 

Bishop  of  Missouri 
Formerly   Missionary   Bishop  of   Utah,   Montana,   and  Idaho 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
ties    attending   the   maintenance   of    Church   schools: 

"Bishops  and  other  clergymen  may  well  go  slow  and  be  careful 
in  launching  their  schools.  If  it  were  a  question  of  launching  only, 
warning  might  not  be  called  for.  But  the  responsibility  entailed  is 
no  small  matter.  Not  seldom  it  grows  to  be  a  sore  and  grievous 
burden.  It  is  not  easy  to  select,  secure,  and  retain  the  right  principal 
and  efficient  teachers.  It  is  no  more  easy  to  make  and  keep  parents 
and  guardians  judicious,  reasonable,  and  just.  If  rates  of  tuition  are 
placed  low,  the  income  will  not  suffice  for  engaging  a  good  supply 
of  well-qualified  teachers.  If  rates  are  high,  the  constituency  of 
patrons  will  be  disastrously  diminished.  Loss  may  be  counted  on  from 
pupils  who  have  promised  to  come,  failing  to  do  so ;  from  pupils  with- 
drawing before  the  end  of  the  school  year,  and  disregarding  the 
school  rule  that  payment  in  any  case  must  be  made  to  the  end ;  from 
pupils  who  cannot  pay,  from  others  who  will  not  pay  until  they  are 
forced  to;  and  from  sickness  and  panics  resulting  therefrom.  The 
competition  of  Roman  Catholic  schools  and  the  public  schools,  graded 
and  high,  is  strenuous  and  unceasing.  Save  in  the  case  of  endowed 
schools  and  a  few  highly  favored  ones  of  conspicuous  reputation,  a 
deficiency  of  income  to  meet  current  expenses  may  be  counted  upon 
as  a  thing  to  be  faced  at  the  end  of  each  school  year.  If  the  bishop 
or  clergyman  be  the  promoter  of  the  school,  back  upon  him  comes 
the  burden  of  such  deficiency." 

During  the  entire  half  century  of  my  administration, 
Bishop  Tuttle's  friendship  and  favor  failed  not.  At 
the  celebration  of  our  Semi-centennial  (1918)  came 
from  him  this  message  of  confidence  and  good  cheer: 

"Almost  side  by  side  with  me  for  fifty  years,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Leffing- 
well  and  St.  Mary's  School,  Knoxville,  have  worked. 

"I  know,  intimately,  of  the  good  work  done  in  and  by  that  school. 
Spiritual  health  and  spiritual  wealth  have  come  to  many  a  home  and 
many  a  community  from  that  work. 

"My  heart  goes  out  in  gratefulness  to  the  dear  Doctor  for  the 
good  work  of  the  past;  and  my  heart  goes  out  in  hopefulness  of 
success  for  the  needed  endowment  which  St.  Mary's  School  pleads  for, 
to  crown  her  joy  in  the  Jubilee  Year  of  19 18. 

(Signed)     "Daniel  S.  Tuttle, 

Presiding  Bishop/' 
125 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

ONE  summer,  in  the  Early  Days,  Bishop  Tuttle 
took  me  as  chaplain  on  a  visitation  of  his  Mis- 
sions. Of  course  we  did  not  go  over  the  whole  vast  field 
of  Utah,  Idaho,  and  Wyoming,  but  we  had  a  most 
interesting  and  strenuous  campaign.  Our  travel  was 
mostly  by  stage,  over  hills  and  plains  where  sometimes 
there  was  no  road  or  trace  of  trail.  Nothing  but  a  "Con- 
cord" stage  would  have  held  together,  under  the  terrific 
bouncing;  yet  the  Bishop,  when  fatigued,  would  sleep 
between  the  bumps.  He  had  a  wonderful  facility  of 
recuperating  by  "snatching"  sleep  under  all  conditions. 
Even  on  the  spring  seat  of  a  lumber  wagon,  to  which  we 
often  had  to  resort,  he  would  have  his  "naps,"  while 
I  sat  terrified,  keeping  hold  of  him  lest  he  should  fall 
out  over  the  wheels. 

I  remember  one  night,  however,  when  "tired  na- 
ture's sweet  restorer"  failed  the  Bishop,  even  in  bed. 
Near  the  close  of  a  weary  day  we  had  found  food  and 
shelter  in  a  little  log  house,  the  home  of  two  old  people, 
"parishioners"  of  the  Bishop,  who  gave  us  hearty  wel- 
come. As  the  hour  for  retiring  drew  near  I  was  wonder- 
ing what  we  were  to  do  for  sleeping  quarters,  there 
being  in  the  cabin  only  two  rooms,  the  kitchen  and  the 
living  room  where  stood  the  only  bed.  After  the  evening 
hymn  and  prayers,  the  wife  remarked,  "Of  course, 
Bishop,  you  will  take  our  bed,  but  I'm  afraid  you  will 
find  them  rather  bad  tonight."  We  soon  discovered 
"them"  by  the  cutaneous  irritations  which  murdered 
sleep.  The  Bishop  endured  "them"  for  an  hour  or  two, 
then  taking  one  of  the  blankets,  he  wrapped  the  drapery 
of  his  couch  about  him  and  camped  out  on  the  floor. 
Our  kind  host  and  hostess,  by  the  aid  of  a  ladder,  had 
disappeared  through  a  hole  in  the  ceiling. 


126 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

IN  January,  1878,  died  Dr.  Samuel  Chase,  of  blessed 
memory.  By  the  death  of  this  venerable  and  well- 
beloved  pioneer,  St.  Mary's  School  lost  a  valued  friend, 
one  who  had  been  closely  associated  with  all  the  impor- 
tant events  of  its  history.  At  the  opening  of  school  in 
autumn,  at  the  Anniversary  in  Easter  week,  in  the  exer- 
cises of  Commencement,  and  on  many  other  occasions 
of  interest,  he  had  been  with  us,  year  after  year,  encour- 
aging us  in  our  work,  and  rejoicing  in  the  prosperity 
of  the  School.  We  shall  long  miss  him,  and  mourn  that 
we  shall  see  his  face  no  more.  Lux  perpetua  luceat  ex. 

FROM  THE  STANDING  COMMITTEE  OF  THE 
DIOCESE  OF  ILLINOIS 

"The  Rev.  Samuel  Chase,  D.D.,  was  one  of  the  pioneer  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Church.  Nearly  forty-four  years  he  had  been  a  faithful 
herald  of  the  Cross,  on  the  prairies  of  Illinois ;  for  thirty-six  years  he 
had  represented  the  Church  in  her  General  Convention.  He  had  seen 
the  six  clergymen  of  Illinois  multiplied  to  a  hundred,  and  the  one  dio- 
cese become  three,  and  all  of  them  bearing  the  impress  of  his  own  char- 
acter. He  had  founded  parishes,  he  had  devoted  his  life  to  the  cause 
of  Christian  education,  he  was  expert  in  all  questions  that  concern 
the  weal  of  the  Church.  He  was  wise  and  prudent  in  council,  pro- 
found in  learning,  ripe  in  judgment;  united  in  him  was  the  wisdom 
which  comes  from  thought  and  study  and  from  long  experience. 
He  was  a  'good  man  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost' ;  the  simplicity  and 
purity  of  his  character  endeared  him  to  all  hearts.  He  was  a  Prince 
in  our  Israel." 

THE  death  of  another  dear  friend  and  helper,  the 
Rev.  Stephen  T.  Allen,  for  several  years  rector  of 
our  nearest  parish  in  Galesburg,  and  a  frequent  visitor 
at  St.  Mary's,  calls  for  appreciative  words  beyond  the 
limits  of  our  space.  His  life  and  death  were  as  beautiful 
as  they  were  blessed.  There  was  no  thought  for  self; 
all  was  for  others  and  for  God  and  His  Church.  He  was 

127 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

a  Christian  gentleman,  a  scholar  and  a  ripe  and  good 
one;  a  faithful  priest  in  the  Church  of  God.  All  that 
he  wrote  and  spoke  witnessed  to  his  clearness  of  thought 
and  candor  of  judgment;  all  that  he  did  gave  evidence 
of  a  heart  unselfish  and  a  soul  devoted  to  duty.  He  was 
one  whom  all  trusted,  and  in  whom  none  was  disap- 
pointed, for  he  was  too  modest  for  any  pretension.  He 
will  be  missed  by  the  Church  press  for  which  his  facile 
pen  has  been  given  in  generous  and  unpaid  labor.  He 
will  be  missed  in  parish,  in  counsel,  and  correspondence. 

"THE  PLAY'S  THE  THING" 

THE  reading  from  Hamlet,  by  the  Seniors  and  the  Second 
Middle  Class,  was  the  event  of  the  session  just  closed.  It  were, 
perhaps,  scarcely  fitting  to  chronicle  it  among  the  merry  makings; 
for  delightful  as  it  was,  enjoyment  was  not  its  destined  end.  It  was 
undertaken  as  genuine  class  work,  with  a  view  of  acquiring  familiarity 
with  the  masterpiece  of  the  master  poet.  The  two  classes  were  required 
to  be  present  at  all  rehearsals. 

The  final  reading  was  held  in  the  drawing  room,  the  audience, 
St.  Mary's  household,  being  seated  in  the  library.  The  youthful 
performers  spoke  their  speeches  "trippingly  on  the  tongue,"  and  "in 
the  very  torrent,  tempest,  and  whirlwind  of  their  passion  used  a 
temperance  that  gave  it  smoothness";  and  while  suiting  the  action 
to  the  word,  and  the  word  to  the  action,  "held  the  mirror  up  to 
nature"  alike  to  their  own  satisfaction  and  that  of  the  lookers-on. 

Without  "o'erstepping  the  modesty  of  nature,"  one  young  girl 
personated  the  smiling  villain  that  ruled  in  Denmark;  and  another, 
the  self -sufficient  and  over-cunning  Polonius.  The  "beauteous  majesty 
of  Denmark"  wore  her  ermine  with  grace  and  dignity;  Ophelia  was 
charming  even  when  "divided  from  herself  and  her  fair  judgment," 
while  Hamlet,  in  customary  suit  of  solemn  black,  soliloquized  satis- 
factorily upon  the  question  of,  "To  be  or  not  to  be."  The  ghost,  in 
complete  steel,  made  night  so  hideous  that  an  infant  looker-on  fled 
for  protection  to  the  maternal  arms.  A  more  delicate  compliment 
was  never  paid  to  actor,  and  the  gentle  apparition  was  considered 
the  great  triumph  of  the  evening. 

128 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

We  should  fear  to  be  accused  of  exaggeration  were  we  to  attempt 
a  description  of  the  beauty  of  the  scenes  presented  that  evening  in  the 
lovely  drawing  room.  High  art  curtains  separated  that  apartment 
from  the  studio,  making  a  rich  back-ground,  and  affording  a  conve- 
nient arras  behind  which  Polonius  conveyed  himself  once  too  often. 

The  evening  was  one  of  unalloyed  enjoyment,  and  we  are  sure 
that  none  who  took  part  in  the  reading  will  ever  regret  the  hours 
given  up  to  preparation  for  it.  They  have  been  well  spent;  and  we 
congratulate  '78  and  '79,  not  only  upon  their  having  had  a  good 
time,  but  also  upon  the  solid  treasure  they  have  secured  in  thus 
gaining  familiarity  with  the  work  of  the  great  Bard  of  Avon. 

— Y.  Y.  K.  (Nancy  Meneely  Hitchcock) 


A  HIGH-ART  TEA  PARTY 

A  FEW  weeks  ago  a  large  quantity  of  decorated  ware,  having 
been  returned  from  Chicago  whither  it  had  been  sent  for 
firing,  permission  was  obtained  for  an  artists'  reunion  in  the  form 
of  a  high-art  tea  party.  Accordingly  the  French  table  was  furnished 
forth  with  the  dainty  dishes;  and  when  all  was  ready,  we  were  per- 
mitted to  gaze  upon  its  loveliness. 

To  describe  all  the  designs,  the  beautiful,  the  classic,  and  the 
quaint,  of  cups  and  saucers,  tiles  and  plates,  would  take  us  outside 
of  the  two  pent  up  pages  to  which  the  Palladium  editor  "contracts 
our  powers."  There  were  gay  tiles  with  conventionalized  figures, 
copies  of  Walter  Crane's  admirable  designs;  Little  Bo-Peep  had 
found  her  sheep,  or  she  might  have  done  so  had  she  looked  up  at 
the  border  of  the  tile  where  they  were  all  in  a  row;  Cinderella 
bewailed  her  fate  in  a  chimney  corner  duly  set  forth  with  tiles,  tiles 
within  a  tile,  while  the  half-open  dresser  of  her  stepmother's  kitchen 
revealed  quite  a  correct  set  of  "flowing  blue."  There  were  flowers, 
lilies  and  roses,  apple  and  cherry  blossoms  marvelously  natural  and 
painted  on  porcelain  so  delicate  that  their  shape  and  color  were  visible 
through  the  dainty  ware.  There  were  other  blossoms,  the  like  of 
which  are  not  to  be  found  in  any  book  of  botany,  being  the  matchless 
flowers  which  flourished  in  the  golden  age  and  exist  no  longer,  unless 
it  be  in  the  imaginations  of  ingenious  carvers  of  wood,  discolorers 
of  canvas,  and  painters  of  pottery. 

There  were  water-pitchers  of  antique  shapes  and  classic  designs; 
and  the  tiles,  though  designed  for  fireplaces,  were  contrived  a  double 

129 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

debt  to  pay,  serving  at  the  tea  party  to  set  flower-pots  upon.  Eggs 
were  not  on  the  bill  of  fare;  but  the  newly  painted  egg  cups  must 
appear,  and  the  decorated  china  eggs — a  painted  egg  within  a  painted 
egg  cup.  It  would,  perhaps,  be  an  interesting  inquiry  for  Darwin, 
what  kind  of  chickens  will  be  evolved  if  nest  eggs  of  decorated 
china  are  to  be  used  by  the  gallinaceae  of  the  future ;  or  to  formulate  it 
more  poetically,  what  will  be  the  lay  of  the  last  cackling  minstrel? 

But  to  return  to  our  tea  party.  Flowers  and  blooming  plants 
lent  their  beauty  to  the  scene.  One  smiling  damsel,  dressed  in  Swiss 
costume,  with  pretty  cap  and  snowy  apron,  played  the  part  of  table 
waiter.  The  table  was  lighted  with  candles  in  old-fashioned  candle- 
sticks. 

A  grave  and  reverend  Senior  made  a  supper  of  bread  and  milk 
that  she  might  use  the  bowl  which  she  had  decorated,  pale  pink 
within,  pale  blue  without,  with  roses,  lilies,  and  grasses,  and  gleaming 
gilding.  That  the  art  might  be  of  the  higher,  the  milk  was  served 
from  the  top  of  the  pan. 

The  company  were  merry  over  the  novel  entertainment.  Tea  and 
bread  and  butter,  partaken  of  from  such  dainty  dishes,  were  better 
than  nectar  and  ambrosia. 

After  the  feast  was  over,  the  youthful  artists  proceeded  to  wash 
up  my  ladies'  dishes,  since  wares  so  delicate  might  not  be  entrusted 
to  less  careful  hands  than  their  own.  Whether  they  would  have 
reached  Pope's  ideal  of  womanly  self-control,  and  have  been  mistresses 
of  themselves  had  china  fallen,  does  not  appear.  Neither  their  integ- 
rity nor  that  of  their  dishes  was  put  to  the  test. 

HOW  WE  SPENT  THANKSGIVING  DAY 

WE  had  all  wished  for  a  "white"  Thanksgiving  Day;  and  early 
on  that  morning  (November,  1878)  many  eager  faces  might 
have  been  seen  at  the  windows,  watching  the  snow-flakes  as  they  fell 
gently  and  softly  to  the  ground.  For  several  hours  the  air  was  filled 
with  those  white-winged  messengers-  but  the  rest  of  the  day  was  clear 
and  bright. 

"Honor  the  Lord  with  thy  substance,  and  with  the  first  fruits  of 
all  thine  increase."  What  can  be  more  beautiful  than  an  offering  of 
praise  and  thanksgiving  to  the  Giver  of  all  good  things  for  the  fruits 
of  the  earth!  Although  the  church  was  not  decorated,  we  had,  this 
year,  a  full  Harvest-Home  service.  The  singing  was  especially  good, 

130 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST,  MARTS 

and  the  little  church  was  filled  with  melody.  There  was  a  ring  of  joy 
and  gladness  throughout  the  entire  service. 

If  great  events  are  those  which  occupy  the  longest  time,  surely 
the  dinner  was  the  greatest  event  of  the  day.  Skillful  hands  had  been 
busy  all  the  morning.  Upon  entering  the  dining  room  we  were  as- 
tonished and  delighted  with  the  transformation  that  had  taken  place. 

The  room  was  soon  awakened  from  its  silence  and  the  scene  be- 
came gay  and  animated.  The  rich  crimson  drapery  of  the  portiere 
formed  a  brilliant  contrast  to  the  arch  of  golden  grain  which  was 
turned  around  it.  The  columns  were  wreathed  with  maize  and  wheat ; 
and  here  and  there  peeped  out  a  yellow  ear  of  corn  or  a  deep-red 
apple.  The  stars  and  stripes  were  gracefully  draped  on  one  side  of 
the  room.  The  tables  had  been  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  hollow 
square.  In  the  center  of  the  square  our  white  marble,  "Spring,"  was 
enthroned  among  blooming  plants  and  singing  birds,  a  striking  con- 
trast to  the  rest  of  the  decorations,  a  memorial  of  the  seed  time  of  our 
bounteous  harvest. 

The  bright  young  faces  of  the  girls,  smiling  gaily  under  their 
fantastic  caps  of  orange,  red,  and  blue,  gave  an  additional  variety 
to  the  scene.  Some  of  the  caps  this  year  were  very  quaint  and  pretty; 
noticeably  the  old-fashioned  bonnets,  and  a  crimson  hollyhock.  Miss 
Dewy,  having  received  some  flowers  from  her  New  England  home, 
soon  after  grace  had  been  sung  sent  a  little  bouquet  to  each  member 
of  the  class  of  '8i. 

As  usual,  "ye  quips  and  ye  cranks"  were  read  at  the  close  of 
dessert.  There  were  not  as  many  original  rhymes  as  usual  on  Thanks- 
giving Day  at  St.  Mary's ;  genius  did  not  seem  to  burn.  The  Class  of 
'8 1,  however,  was  honored  by  an  entire  poem  written  in  its  praise. 

Skating  was  in  order  for  the  afternoon,  and  as  Jack  Frost  had 
spread  a  substantial  coating  of  ice  over  the  blue  waters  of  Mirror 
Lake,  there  was  good  opportunity  for  such  exercise ;  even  a  looker-on 
was  able  to  find  plenty  of  amusement. 

It  is  well  known  that  Miss  Hitchcock  makes  delicious  coffee ;  and 
a  smile  of  contentment  stole  over  the  face  of  each  senior,  when  told 
that  the  Class  was  to  take  coffee  with  her  at  six.  It  was  the  first  time 
we  had  been  in  her  new  room  together,  and  we  fully  appreciated  the 
many  beauties  of  the  room,  and  the  coffee. 

After  Evensong,  we  had  lunch  in  the  Study  Hall.  While  there, 
a  petition  was  handed  to  the  Rector.  This  document  contained  a  re- 
minder of  the  promise  he  made  some  years  ago,  to  give  us  a  holiday 

131 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

when  he  should  reach  the  age  of — but  perhaps  we  shall  be  telling 
tales  out  of  school,  if  we  say  what  age.  The  petition  went  on  to  state 
that  the  fifth  of  December  would  come  on  Sunday,  this  year,  and  to 
signify  our  willingness  to  take  the  Friday  after  Thanksgiving  as  a 
substitute.  The  request  was  granted,  the  more  willingly,  the  Doctor 
said,  because  it  had  been  written  and  signed  by  the  Class  of  '8i.  A 
proud  moment,  for  the  Eighty-oners! 

Then  to  the  drawing-room,  where  we  spent  the  rest  of  the  evening 
in  fun  and  frolic,  playing  many  games  which,  no  doubt,  the  "old 
girls"  well  remember,  such  as  "Fox  and  Geese,"  "Blind  Man's  Buff," 
"Stagecoach,"  and  the  "Knights  of  the  Whistle." 

But  one  may  tire  even  of  pleasure ;  and  few  cared  to  stay  up  long 
after  the  last  bell ;  and,  as  we  wandered  upstairs,  snatches  of  conversa- 
tions might  be  heard,  all  related  to  one  theme,  a  holiday  tomorrow! 

Margaret  Boyd,  '8i. 

OUR  THANKSGIVING  DAY  DINNER 

CHARGE   OF   YE    LIGHT   BRIGADE! 

Order  of  Ye  Attack 

Ye  Skirmish 
Macaroni  Soup,  ye  favorite  vitaille  of  ye  sunny  Italy. 
Ye  grand  charge 
Ye  universal  Yankee  Fowle,  ye  noble  Turkey,  served  with  ye 
delectable  Cranberry,  and  sauce  of  ye  favorite  bivalve, 
ye  gentle  Oyster.  Ye  smalle  Fowle,  Chanticleer,  with 
ye  toothsome  Crust,  yclept  Chicken  Pie,  delit  of 
ye  youngsters.  Ye  esculent  Tuber  of  ye  Em- 
erald   Isle.   Ye   pathetic    Onion.   Ye 
Aboriginal  Succotash. 

Ye  Flank  Movement 

Ye  goodlye  Capon,  Cold.  Ham.  Tongue.  Celery.  Chow-Chow. 

Ye  diverse  Relishes 

Rally  of  Ye  Light  Infantry 

Pies,  ye  mild-mannered  Mince,  and  ye  persuasive  Pumpkin. 

Wine-Jelly  with  ye  top  of  ye  pan.  Apples.  Nuts.  Raisins. 

Explosive  Bon  Bons.  Original  Mottoes, 

with  ye  Quips  and  Cranks. 

"He  who  fights  and  runs  away, 

May  live  to  fight  another  day." 

132 


B 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

THE  BIRD  OF  THE  FEAST 

From  the  Thanksgiving  Day  Bill  of  Fare. 

IRD  of  Thanksgiving  Day! 
Blithesome  should  be  the  lay, 
Singing  thy  praise  over  mountain  and  lea. 

Emblem  of  plenteousness ! 

Blest  is  the  dwelling  place 
Where  thy  bronzed  form  on  the  table  we  see. 

Flavor  incredible! 

Thou  art  most  edible 
When  all  with  onions  and  sage  thou  art  drest. 

Bird  of  America ! 

What  were  Thanksgiving  Day, 
Did  not  thy  charms  to  its  pleasures  give  zest? 

When  served  with  cranberry, 

Not  e'en  the  Danbury 
Man  that  makes  jokes  could  begin  to  beguile 

Us  with  such  merry  thought ; 

Of  thee  the  very  thought 
Calls  to  the  face  of  each  youngster  a  smile. 

Joy,  thy  drumsticks  to  see, 

Joy,  there  are  tricks  to  be 
Played  with  the  "wish-bone!"  Ah!  children,  what  fun! 

But  I  must  cease  my  lay, 

Bird  of  the  festal  day! 
Turkey  should  never  be  much  overdone. 

— Y.  Y.  K. 

THE  RECTOR'S  BIRTHDAY 

THE  thought  occurred  to  us  that  perhaps  the  Rector  would  not 
care  to  have  his  advanced  age  announced  in  print.  Accordingly 
we  waited  upon  him  to  enquire  if  we  should  suppress  that  particular 
in  recording  the  return  of  his  birthday.  To  this,  he  replied:  "Oh,  I 
shall  not  mind  now;  forty  is  quite  respectable;  I  did  feel  a  little 
ashamed  of  the  thirties!" 

To  the  "old  girls,"  some  of  whom  will  remember  the  celebration 
of  his  twenty-eighth  birthday,  be  it  known,  then, — but  we  will  let 
Julia  Derby  tell  about  it  in  the  congratulatory  address  of  which 
we  have  begged  a  copy : 

"Dr.  Leffingwell,  our  very  dear  Rector:  This  year  your  birthday  has 
fallen  on  a  Sunday,  thus  preventing  the  usual  sportive  celebration  of  the 

133 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

event;  but  congratulations  are  in  order  at  any  time;  and  I  am  much  pleased 
to  have  the  honor  of  offering  them  in  behalf  of  your  family. 

"You  have  said  that  you  feel  very  old,  having  reached  the  venerable 
age  of  two  score,  but  to  us,  you  look  not  a  day  older  than  when  some  of 
us,  "grave  and  reverend  seniors,"  entered  the  preparatory  class;  and  we 
learn,  too,  from  good  authority,  that  thirteen  years  have  scarcely  changed 
your  appearance. 

"In  your  noble  work  at  St.  Mary's,  Providence  has  greatly  prospered 
you ;  and  may  the  same  beneficent  Hand  that  has  led  you  heretofore,  continue 
to  guide  you ;  so  that  when  your  years  shall  number  twice  two  score,  your 
face  may  be  as  free  from  traces  of  care  as  now,  e'en  though  on  your  head 
rest  the  snows  of  many  winters. 

"May  the  girls  who  attend  St.  Mary's  then,  love  and  honor  you,  as  do 
we  who  are  here  now;  and  may  the  wishes  and  congratulations  of  those 
children  be  as  heart-felt  as  those  tendered  by  us,  who  to-night  wish  you 
many  happy  returns  of  the  day." 

February,  1881. 
From  Lettie  Cleveland,  '80,  to  whose  mission-school  in  Utah  St.  Mary's 
School  sent  a  Christmas  box,  comes  the  following: 

"You  have  my  heartfelt  thanks  for  the  kind  tribute  of  interest,  of  re- 
membrance, and  of  good-will,  which  you  paid  to  me  in  sending  my  scholars 
such  a  beautiful  Christmas  box.  I  enclose  an  acknowledgment  from  the 
school.  This  they  have  done  of  themselves,  without  even  a  suggestion  from 
me,  thus  showing  that  they  are  truly  grateful  for  your  kindness  to  them. 
With  sincere  thanks,  and  with  the  kindest  regards  for  all  at  St.  Mary's,  I  am 
"Yours  affectionately, 

"Lettie  Cleveland." 

From  St.  John's  Sunday  School,  Logan,  Utah. 

"Early  in  the  month  of  December,  our  hearts  were  made  glad  by  the 
news  that  we  should  receive  a  Christmas  box  from  St.  Mary's  School,  Knox- 
ville,  Illinois.  We  had  been  told  that  our  teacher  had  been  in  school  all  her 
life  at  St.  Mary's,  and  the  fact  of  receiving  a  Christmas  box  from  her 
schoolmates  added  a  new  interest  to  an  already  interesting  subject.  I 
heartily  thank  you,  in  behalf  of  my  schoolmates,  for  the  beautiful  presents 
which,  with  your  own  hands,  you  have  made  and  kindly  sent  us;  and  I  am 
sure,  could  you  have  seen  how  merry  we  were  on  Christmas  Eve,  you 
would  have  thought  that  your  tokens  of  good  will  were  appreciated. 

"Agnes  Miller." 


134 


CHAPTER  X 

|UR  Annie  Versary  entered  her  teens  on  April 
20th,  1 88 1 ;  and  that  day  was  a  day  of  rejoic- 
ing. Three  Bishops  honored  us  with  their 
presence;  the  Bishops  of  Illinois,  Quincy, 

and  Springfield.  Another  honored  guest  was  the  Hon. 

S.  Corning  Judd,  Chancellor  of  the  Diocese  of  Illinois^ 

an  old  friend  of  "Annie's." 

From  the  Palladium 

On  our  return  from  Matins,  we  assembled  in  the  Study  Hall, 
and  Dr.  Leffingwell  introduced  Bishop  McLaren.  The  Bishop  told 
us  he  was  incapable  of  speech-making ;  but  that  he  found  three  things 
which  he  did  not  like  here;  first,  he  did  not  like  the  late  hours  (by 
the  way,  that  is  something  we  did  not  know  about)  ;  secondly,  he  did 
not  like  the  speech-making;  and  thirdly,  well,  he  guessed  he  must 
leave  the  third  one  in  the  other  two,  for  he  could  not  find  it;  and 
then,  he  begged  leave  to  introduce  Bishop  Seymour,  who  arose  and 
remarked  that  he  could  make  a  speech,  and  proved  it  immediately. 
He  gave  us  some  good  advice,  as  he  always  does,  and  I  think  we  re- 
member it  the  more  for  its  being  mixed  with  drollery.  He  then  begged 
leave  to  introduce  Mr.  Judd. 

This  gentleman's  remarks  were  to  the  point.  He  said  he  had  been 
taught  when  young,  "When  the  nightingale  sings,  let  all  other  birds 
keep  silence."  How  much  more  true  then  was  it  where  there  were 
three  nightingales!  So,  laughing,  we  adjourned  to  the  dining  room. 

After  dinner  the  birthday  cake  was  brought  in,  with  thirteen 
candles  on  it,  to  be  lighted  by  our  distinguished  visitors  and  by  mem- 
bers of  the  household  longest  at  St.  Mary's.  The  cake  having  been  duly 
lighted,   Bishop   Seymour  proposed  a  procession;  and  the  thirteen, 

135 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

each  with  a  lighted  taper,  followed  his  lead  around  the  room.  Then 
he  presented  his  candle  to  the  youngest  schoolgirl,  Imogene  Seamans. 
The  others  disposed  of  theirs  in  different  ways,  and  we  wended  our 
way  to  the  school-room,  where  the  cake  was  cut  and  eaten. 

The  rest  of  the  day  was  spent  as  we  pleased,  and  in  the  happy 
expectation  of  a  holiday  on  the  next  day;  but  alas  for  the  delusions  of 
youth!  We  were  allowed  but  a  half  holiday,  and  that  on  Friday 
afternoon.  Although  we  went  to  rest  that  night  with  our  hopes 
crushed,  we  still  felt  as  if  we  should  long  remember  with  pleasure 
the  day  "Annie  Versary"  entered  her  teens. 

Josephine  Paige,  '82. 

BACCALAUREATE  SUNDAY 

THE  Baccalaureate  Sermon  of  1881  was  preached  in  St.  John's 
Church,  by  the  Rector.  The  class  was  seated  together;  and  over 
them  hung  their  banner  bearing  their  motto:  "Redeeming  the  Time." 
This  motto  was  the  Rector's  text,  and  from  it  he  drew  many  beauti- 
ful and  instructive  lessons  of  life.  His  introduction  was  a  very  happy 
one,  the  coincidence  of  Trinity  and  Baccalaureate  Sundays;  the 
teachings  of  the  Christian  Year  in  the  last  of  its  memorial  days; 
Baccalaureate  Sunday  holding  a  similar  relation  to  their  school  course. 
The  last  Sunday  evening!  The  last  of  the  school  year  to  all;  to 
many,  the  last  of  school  life!  A  time  for  serious  thought,  surely, 
though  hearts  were  beating  high  with  thoughts  of  coming  pleasure. 
The  evening  proved  to  be  an  eventful  one.  The  groups  on  the  lawn, 
and  those  who  were  lingering  where  the  chapel  ought  to  be,  noticed 
clouds  of  strange  shape  and  color.  The  whole  sky  soon  wore  a  most 
portentous  aspect,  and  orders  to  close  windows  sent  many  to  the  house, 
whither  all  were  soon  driven  by  a  storm  of  violence  so  terrible  that 
it  was  feared  that  even  the  strong  walls  of  St.  Mary's  School  might 
have  to  yield,  or  at  least  be  unroofed.  But  nothing  worse  occurred 
than  the  fall  of  one  chimney  and  the  metallic  top  of  another,  and  the 
drowning  out  of  Alice's  poor  little  chicklings.  Sounds  of  lamentations 
over  this  last  misfortune  arose  from  the  nursery,  mingled  with 
clamorous  peepings  from  the  "smallee  fowles" ;  and  Hortense  slipped 
from  her  crib  to  enquire,  "What  a'  matter?  What  for  Alice  c'y?" 
The  little  balls,  alas!  no  longer  downy,  were  deposited  in  a  bed  of 
cotton  batting,  and  conveyed  to  the  guest  chamber  where  they  gradu- 
ally became  quiet.  The  storm  abated,  the  last  bell  rang,  and  Baccalau- 
reate Sunday  was  over. 

136 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

P.  S.  The  chickens  are  doing  well,  and  the  public  will  probably 
hear  no  more  of  them  until  Thanksgiving  Day. 

ALMA  MATER 

By  Stella  H.  Packard 

Closing!  lines  of  the  Valedictory  of  1881 

ALMA  MATER,  dear  St.  Mary's! 
Last  of  all  to  thee  we  turn, 
While  within  the  heart's  recesses 

Thoughts  of  joy  and  sadness  burn. 

Joy  in  thy  swift-growing  honor, 

In  thy  well-deserved  praise ; 
Sadness  that  for  us  are  ended 

All  thy  calm  and  happy  days. 

Joy,  too,  in  the  glorious  future, 

Which  upon  thy  pathway  shines, 
For  the  blessings  which  we  gladly 

Read  for  thee  between  the  lines. 

Over  now  is  our  abiding 

In  the  shadow  of  Thy  Cross; 
Glorious  symbol,  from  whose  halo 

Vanishes  all  earthly  dross. 

But  though  we  from  thee  must  sever, 

Living  still  within  the  heart, 
Happy  memories  will  forever 

Link  us  to  thee,  though  apart. 

When  the  Cross  before  us  rises, 

Wheresoe'er  we  chance  to  be, 
We  shall  find,  'neath  deeper  meaning, 

Sweet  remembrances  of  thee; 

While  the  fair,  white-gleaming  lilies, 

Growing  from  the  weeds  apart, 
Lift  their  chalices  and  whisper, 

"Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart." 

Thus  may  motto,  sign,  and  symbol 

With  us  still  forever  dwell, 
Till  to  life,  its  joys,  its  duties, 

We  shall  say  our  last  Farewell. 

137 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Praying,  too,  for  thee  the  blessing 
That  within  the  word  doth  lie, 

Alma  Mater,  now  we  bid  thee, 

From  our  hearts,  a  fond  Good-bye. 


THE  BIRTHDAY  CAKE 
(Read  during  the  lighting  of  the  Cake  on  Anniversary  Day) 

A  CAKE  with  tapers  all  unlit ! 
You'll  wonder  if  'twas  meant  for  wit, 
When  glowing  lights  were  sure  more  fit 

For  such  occasion. 
List !  and  I'll  tell  what  meaneth  it, 
Without  persuasion. 

These  tapers  all  shall  lighted  be; 
A  bit  of  ritual,  you  see, 
Quite  suiting  Anniversary. 

The  lighting  means 
We're  welcoming,  most  cheerily, 

St.  Mary's  'teens. 

Now  to  the  Bishops  bear  the  cake, 

And  ask  that  each  a  taper  take 

To  light  for  'auld  acquaintance'  sake; 

Each  candle's  shining 
Shall  pleasant  thoughts  within  us  wake, 

Much  good  divining. 

And  now  who  but  our  Rector  dear 
Shall  light  the  next?  From  year  to  year 
His  word  of  love,  and  not  of  fear, 

Has  been  the  rule 
That  guided  has,  with  brightest  cheer, 

St.  Mary's  School. 

Now  Mrs.  Leffingwell  shall  light 

The  next;  and  then  'twere  surely  right 

Miss  Hitchcock  should  help  make  more  bright, 

With  taper  gleaming, 
The  birthday  cake ;  a  goodly  sight, 

Its  cheerful  beaming. 

138 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST,  MARTS 

Now  Mrs.  Rudd,  for  "Auld  Lang  Syne," 

Shall  bid  another  taper  shine. 

And  who  the  next?  You'll  quick  divine 

Without  much  showing, 
Remembering  Ida  for  eight  years 

Has  here  been  growing. 

And  now  Hortense  and  Margaret 
Julia  and  Sophie;  see,  there  yet 
Is  one  for  Stella;  and  now  let 

Us  all  be  merry, 
And  never,  nevermore  forget 

Annie  Versary! 


THE  SURRENDER  OF  YORKTOWN 

THE  centennial  celebration  of  the  glorious  Nineteenth  of  Octo- 
ber was  a  pleasant  thing  in  itself,  and  a  valuable  means  of  giv- 
ing expression  to  a  patriotic  sentiment.  From  a  proposed  merry- 
making in  the  dining  room,  with  perhaps  the  "Fan-Drill,"  the  plan 
grew  to  an  entertainment  in  the  Study  Hall. 

PROGRAM 

Chorus— "Hail  Columbia."     St.  Cecilia  Society. 

Essay— "The  Siege  of  Yorktown."     Miss  Roberts,  '84. 

Recitation — "Carmen     Bellicosum."      The     Misses     Burrows,     Lewis,     and 

Scott,  '83. 
Solo  and   Chorus — "Columbia,   the   Gem  of  the  Ocean."     Solo — Miss   Van 

Bergen,  '83. 
Recitation— "Britannia's  Shoe."  Miss  Paige,  '82. 
Chorus — "Yankee  Doodle."     St.  Cecilia  Society. 
Essay — "The  Revolutionary  Struggle."     Miss  Liscomb,  '83. 
Solo  and  Chorus — "The  Marseillaise."     Solo — Miss  Oglesby,  '8a. 
Essay — "Then  and  Now."     Miss  Benedict,  '82. 
Chorus — "God  Save  the  Queen."     St.  Cecilia  Society. 
Recitation — "The  American  Flag."     Miss  Goldberg,  '84. 
Solo  and  Chorus — "The  Star  Spangled  Banner."     Solo — Miss  Packard,  '81. 
"The  Fan  Drill"— The  Misses  Paige,  Babcock,  Cahill,  Derby,  Ayer,  Price, 

Julia  Seamans,  May  Perley. 
Tableau — "Lady  Washington  Receiving  her  Distinguished  Contemporaries." 

Lady  Washington,  Miss  Oglesby,  '82. 

Each  class  decided  which  essay  of  its  own  number  should  be  read ; 
and  these  essays  were  an  interesting  feature  of  the  entertainment.  The 

139 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

essay  entitled  "The  Revolutionary  Struggle"  closed  with  a  tribute 
to  the  French  allies  of  our  ancestors;  and  at  once  the  St.  Cecilia  So- 
ciety arose  and  sang,  in  French,  the  "Marseillaise."  The  essay  "Then 
and  Now,"  closing  with  an  allusion  to  the  happy  relations  now  ex- 
isting between  America  and  the  Mother  country,  how  "from  Queen 
to  peasant,  England  had  shared  with  us  in  the  sorrow  of  a  great 
national  calamity,"  was  then  read;  and  at  its  close  the  Society  sang 
"God  save  the  Queen,"  the  audience  standing,  according  to  the  Eng- 
lish usage.  It  was  a  graceful  tribute,  and  one  which  we  hope  Her 
Majesty  may  appreciate. 

And  now  the  bell  rings,  and  from  my  ladies'  chambers  issue  a 
bewildering  array,  ladies  of  the  olden  time,  and  peruked  and  be- 
ruffed  figures  in  short  dresses,  and  cocked  hats.  As  we  shall  learn 
anon,  these  latter  personages  represent  the  heroes  of  the  Revolution. 

The  procession  is  formed;  and  the  quaintly-clad  party,  preceded 
by  the  American  flag,  enters  the  Study  Hall,  singing  Hail  Columbia, 
while  the  drummers  of  Yorktown,  the  one  in  Continental  and  the 
other  in  British  uniform,  mark  the  time,  and  add  decidedly  to  the 
liveliness  of  the  march.  The  stage  is  gaily  decorated  with  flags,  the 
Star-Spangled  Banner  is  draped  above  the  background  that  once 
served  for  Pinafore;  the  French  tri-color  is  at  the  sides.  With  the 
background  and  the  gay  streamers  it  needed  but  a  little  help  from 
the  imagination  to  conceive  the  scene  as  representing  the  deck  of  a 
man-of-war,  in  the  harbor  of  Yorktown. 

The  stage  was  occupied  by  those  who  were  to  have  a  part  in  the 
entertainment,  the  St.  Cecilia  Society,  the  essayists,  and  the  readers. 
As  all  were  in  costume  the  effect  was  quite  brilliant  and  not  a  little 
amusing.  In  the  front,  Washington's  Body-guard  and  Dr.  Wither- 
spoon,  of  Congressional  fame,  sang  out  of  the  same  book;  while  be- 
hind and  above  was  the  majestic  presence  of  the  Goddess  of  Liberty. 
Columbia  sang  the  solo,  "Columbia,  the  Gem  of  the  Ocean";  Lady 
Washington  gave  the  solo  of  the  "Marseillaise." 

The  musical  and  literary  part  of  the  entertainment  being  over, 
the  stage  was  cleared  for  the  "Fan  Drill,"  the  eight  who  were  to 
take  part  needing  all  the  room  for  their  evolutions  and  their  trains. 
The  "Drill"  won  the  enthusiastic  admiration  of  the  beholders.  The 
combination  of  military  precision  with  such  movements  as  "Flutter 
your  fans"  was  most  charming;  and  then  there  was  the  added  effect 
of  the  pretty  Queen  Anne  costumes  in  bright  and  varied  colors.  The 
admirable  drill  is  the  more  to  the  credit  of  those  taking  part  in  it, 

140 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

as  the  drilling  was  practised  without  any  help  from  outside  their 
own  number. 

Mrs.  Washington's  reception  was  the  brilliant  close  of  the  de- 
lightful entertainment,  that  part  of  it  at  least  that  was  in  the  Study 
Hall.  "Washington's  Body  Guard"  announced  the  guests,  distin- 
guished officers,  lords,  and  ladies,  Colonial  and  French. 

As  foreign  guests  were  announced,  either  French  or  English,  Mrs. 
Washington  descended  from  her  dais  to  receive  them  with  especial 
honor  and  courtesy.  When  all  the  guests  had  assembled,  the  Star- 
Spangled  Banner  was  sung  again,  by  request,  and  the  audience  joined 
in  the  chorus. 

Lady  Washington  then  gave  her  hand  to  the  French  king,  and  to 
the  music  of  Hail  Columbia  the  party  marched  to  the  dining-room, 
from  which  the  tables  had  been  removed  in  preparation  for  a  merry- 
making. Two  long  double  lines  formed  for  the  Virginia  Reel.  It  was 
as  pretty  a  sight  as  one  could  wish  to  see. 

But  I  have  not  space  or  time  to  describe  all  the  pleasant  pictures 
that  were  hung  up  that  night  in  memory's  halls.  Delightful  it  will 
be  to  recall  them.  I  can  fancy  some  lovely  old  lady,  sixty  years  hence, 
bringing  out  her  yellowed  programme,  and  telling  her  grandchildren 
of  how  she  and  her  schoolmates  celebrated  the  centennial  of  the  Sur- 
render at  Yorktown.  — The  Palladium. 

FROM  HER  MAJESTY,  THE  QUEEN 

OUR  readers  will  perhaps  remember  that  in  our  report  on  the 
celebration  of  the  Surrender  of  Yorktown,  we  noted  the  sing- 
ing of  the  British  National  Anthem,  and  the  standing  of  the  audience 
as  is  the  custom  in  England.  Mention  was  also  made  of  the  kind 
sympathy  which  the  Queen  showed  toward  our  country  in  its  late 
bereavement. 

It  was  suggested  that  a  copy  of  The  Palladium  be  sent  to  Her 
Majesty;  therefore,  an  address  was  written  and  beautifully  illumi- 
nated with  a  border  of  bright  flowers,  and  the  seals  of  America  and 
England  in  two  corners,  with  the  crossed  flags  of  the  countries  in  the 
opposite  corners.  This  was  signed  by  the  teachers  and  scholars,  and 
duly  sent  to  the  Queen.  The  following  answer  was  received: 

"From    Gen.,    the   Rt.    Hon.    Sir    Henry   Ponsonby,    Privy    Councillor    and 
Private  Secretary  to  the  Queen: 

"Osborne,  January  29,   1882. 
"I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  22nd 
of  December,  and  the  accompanying  address  from  the  teachers  and  pupils 

HI 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

of  Saint  Mary's  School,  in  Knoxville,  State  of  Illinois,  which  I  have  duly 
laid  before  the  Queen. 

"I  am  commanded  by  Her  Majesty  to  request  that  her  thanks  may  be 
returned  to  the  signers,  of  this  address  which  the  Queen  has  received  with 
much  gratification. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir, 

"Your  obedient  Servant, 

"Henry  F.  Ponsonby." 


ANNUAL  MEETING  OF  THE  TRUSTEES 

THE  Board  of  Trustees  having  in  charge  St.  Mary's  School, 
Knoxville,  Illinois,  has  learned  with  satisfaction  that  during  the 
past  year  an  extension  to  the  building  has  been  erected,  in  what  is 
known  as  the  north  wing,  by  the  Rector,  the  Rev.  C.  W.  Leffingwell, 
at  an  expense  of  $4,000,  which  he  has  donated  to  the  institution ;  and 
hereby  puts  on  record  its  recognition  and  appreciation  of  his  liberal 
donation,  as  well  as  of  his  successful  management  which  has  brought 
the  School  to  a  high  state  of  efficiency,  and  secured  for  it  a  wide  and 
honorable  reputation. 

Also,  having  learned  from  the  Report  of  the  Rector  that  the 
School  has  been  eminently  successful  during  the  past  year,  the  build- 
ing being  occupied  to  its  utmost  capacity,  and  the  number  of  board- 
ing pupils  having  increased  from  sixty  to  eighty,  within  the  year ;  and 
having  good  reason  to  believe  that  increased  accommodation  will  be 
required  to  meet  the  increasing  demands  of  the  School;  this  Board 
deems  it  desirable,  if  the  requisite  funds  can  be  secured,  that  the  addi- 
tion contemplated  in  the  plans,  and  known  as  the  east-wing,  should 
be  erected  during  the  coming  year.  This  will  involve  an  outlay  of 
about  $20,000.  For  this  purpose  a  legacy  of  $10,000  from  the  late 
James  Knox  will  be  available,  whenever  a  like  sum  is  subscribed  by 
responsible  persons  for  the  same  purpose.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the 
Board  that  $5,000  can  be  raised  in  Knox  County.  With  a  view  of 
securing  the  cooperation  of  the  Episcopal  Church  throughout  the 
whole  State  of  Illinois,  under  the  auspices  of  which  the  School  has 
been  conducted,  the  Rector  is  requested  to  represent  its  present  con- 
dition and  needs  to  the  Federate  Council  of  Illinois,  which  assembles 
in  Springfield  on  the  26th  of  January,  1881,  and  to  solicit  its  action 
and  aid  in  extending  the  usefulness  of  the  School  and  securing  the 
needed  enlargement." 


142 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
THE  TWENTY-SECOND  OF  FEBRUARY 

THE  evening  comes  at  last.  The  scene  changes ;  the  halls  are  fill- 
ing rapidly  with  guests,  antiquely  habited,  wending  their  way 
to  the  dining  room.  Let  us  take  a  peep  at  them  as  they  enter. 

First,  that  lady  with  powdered  hair,  full  robe,  is  Lady  Washing- 
ton. That  tall  figure  at  her  side  is  the  General,  a  good  deal  "con- 
ventionalized." The  Lady  following,  who  carries  over  her  arm  her 
court-train  (more  properly  speaking — curtain)  personates  Lady 
Hamilton;  the  maiden  near,  her  niece.  Next  come  John  Quincy 
Adams  and  wife,  with  the  three  Misses  Adams.  There  is  Nathaniel 
Wayne  and  his  young  wife,  Mrs.  Wayne,  dressed  becomingly;  those 
figured  trains,  piano  covers,  are  the  very  latest.  That  young  couple 
under  the  chandelier  are  the  young  Marquis  de  Lafayette  and  his 
bride.  How  charming  she  looks  in  her  scarlet  court  train!  Within, 
they  are  met  by  the  hostesses. 

Every  one  seems  glad  to  see  every  one  else.  The  ball  is  opened 
with  the  never-to-be-omitted  Mountain  Bell  Schottische,  "Y.  Y.  K." 
presiding  at  the  instrument.  During  the  evening,  General  Washing- 
ton is  thanked  for  his  distinguished  services  performed  for  the  benefit 
of  his  country. 

I  must  not  fail  to  mention  a  certain  Quaker  couple  who  were 
present.  A  favorite  poodle  which  followed  them,  a  dog  of  straw,  was 
an  object  of  no  little  amusement.  I  noticed  also  a  George  Washington 
of  the  hatchet  age  accompanied  by  a  Lady  Washington  of  like 
immature  years.  He  carried  a  hatchet,  and  she  whisked  about 
in  a  close-fitting  baby  cap,  and — the  incongruity  of  it ! — a  dress  with 
long  flowing  train. 

The  evening  was  passed  in  dancing.  Towards  the  end,  refresh- 
ments were  brought  in;  the  guests  showed  that  they  were  human, 
not  ghosts  of  other  days.  The  dancing  was  resumed  until  a  bell  was 
struck  in  the  upper  hall,  when  all  the  guests  began  to  depart,  like  so 
many  Cinderellas.  However,  I  can  say  for  them,  that  unlike  that 
fabled  maiden,  they  were  polite  enough  to  say,  "Good-night." 

FlLIA. 


143 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
THE  WHOLE  HOLIDAY 

HOW  did  we  get  a  whole  holiday?  Well,  it  was  a  special  occa- 
sion. St.  Mary's  had  just  been  received  into  official  relation 
with  the  newly-organized  Province  of  Illinois.  Moreover,  the  corner- 
stone of  the  Chapel  of  St.  Mary's  School  had  just  been  laid.  Truly 
this  was  an  occasion  that  required  the  kind  of  recognition  dear  to 
the  school -girl;  and  accordingly  a  petition  for  a  holiday  was  drawn 
up  and  was  signed  by  the  whole  School. 

When  Bishop  Burgess  announced  that  the  petition  was  granted, 
great  was  the  rejoicing.  At  the  Bishop's  suggestion,  we  all  said  "Spe- 
cial Occasion,"  to  remind  us  that  we  must  not  expect  a  holiday  every 
time  the  bishops  came.  As  if  bishops'  visits  were  not  always  "special 
occasions !" 

Various  were  the  devices  for  spending  the  precious  hours.  There 
were  at  least  two  candy  pulls,  and  a  favored  party  had  a  drive  to 
Galesburg.  Then  Miss  Dewey  invited  a  party  to  go  to  Gilbert's 
Grove ;  we  thought  it  would  be  a  delightful  way  of  spending  part  of 
the  day,  and  gladly  accepted  the  invitation. 

It  was  a  lovely  bright  day,  and  all  the  party  were  in  good  spirits. 
The  first  thing  to  do  on  arriving  at  the  grove  was  to  have  a  boat  ride, 
and  soon  all  were  out  on  the  lake.  After  a  half  hour  of  rowing,  the 
party  broke  up  into  small  groups,  some  to  read,  some  to  sketch,  and 
some  to — well,  whatever  they  intended  to  do,  it  ended  in  taking  a 
nap. 

The  appearance  of  the  dinner  baskets  brought  us  together  again, 
with  the  best  of  appetites ;  and  the  nice  lunch  was  fully  enjoyed.  Then 
followed  a  lazy  hour  of  "nooning";  a  second  boat  ride,  and  it  was 
time  to  start  for  home. 

A  sketch  of  the  rustic  bridge  across  the  ravine;  a  "composition" 
finished,  a  subject  for  another  found;  several  books  begun  or  ended; 
these  were  the  results  of  our  trip.  So  if  Dr.  Leffingwell  had  seen  us, 
had  even  caught  some  of  us  napping,  I  do  not  think  that  he  would 
have  regarded  the  holiday  (for  us  at  least)  as  a  lost  day. 


144 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
THE  DEATH  OF  PRESIDENT  GARFIELD 

THE  Lesser  Litany,  preceded  by  the  90th  Psalm,  was  substi- 
tuted for  the  usual  Matins.  After  the  prayer  for  those  in  afflic- 
tion, the  prayer  for  the  President  was  read,  for  him  upon  whom  had 
just  fallen  so  heavy  a  burden.  The  chaplain  read  the  sad  story  of 
the  President's  last  hours.  Tears  fell  from  many  eyes  during  tbe 
reading.  The  organ  and  lectern  in  the  study  hall  were  draped  in 
black  and  white;  members  of  the  school  are  to  wear  on  the  left 
shoulder  for  thirty  days,  badges  of  black  and  white. 

On  the  day  of  the  burial,  services  were  held  in  St.  John's  Church. 
The  altar  was  vested  in  white,  a  cross  of  evergreens  upon 
it.  The  dossal  was  black,  with  soft  folds  of  white  lawn  draped  over. 
The  chancel  and  the  body  of  the  church  were  draped.  At  either  side 
of  the  church  were  large  flags  crossed  and  furled,  and  then  veiled. 
Flags  were  crossed  over  the  outside  door.  These  were  also  furled,  and 
tied  with  black,  with  black  streamers  on  the  flagstaff's. 

The  address  was  by  our  Chaplain,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rudd.  From 
the  solemn  occasion,  and  from  the  sad  weeks  of  the  President's  suf- 
fering and  the  people's  anxiety,  he  drew  lessons  of  God's  dealings, 
and  showed  how  He  had  answered  prayer,  though  not  in  our  way, 
in  a  way  which  His  wise  Providence  had  seen  best  for  the  nation. 
"From  the  sick  bed  of  the  President,  a  web  had  been  woven  which 
had  drawn  the  people  together,  and  made  them  one." 

After  the  address,  the  Minor  Litany  was  sung,  and  never  had  its 
lofty  and  touching  language  seemed  more  appropriate.  The  De  Pro- 
fundis  was  then  chanted,  and  the  people  departed  with  the  blessing 
of  peace. 

As  we  walked  home,  we  could  not  but  think  that,  years  from 
now,  the  young  people  who  took  part  in  the  service  would  tell  to 
another  generation  the  story  of  how,  as  school  girls,  they  kept  the 
day  of  President  Garfield's  funeral,  and  how  they  were  taught  to 
admire  and  to  imitate  the  simplicity,  the  honesty,  the  courage,  and 
the  Christian  patience  of  the  twentieth  President  of  the  United  States. 


THE  Living  Church  announces  the  death  of  Miss  S.  P.  Darling- 
ton, Principal  of  St.  Mary's  Hall,  Faribault.  Nearly  from  the 
foundation  of  the  school  (1867)  she  has  been,  under  the  Bishop, 
its  head.  Her  faithful  and  efficient  labors  have  been  crowned  with 
success,  in  the  prosperity  of  the  institution  and  the  influence  that  has 

145 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

gone  out  from  thence  to  bless  hundreds  of  homes  in  the  Northwest. 
We  deeply  sympathize  with  the  household  over  which  she  presided,  and 
with  the  Bishop  who,  seeking  health  at  the  South,  lost  one  of  his  most 
trusty  helpers,  at  a  time  when  it  would  seem  he  could  least  spare  her. 

EVENINGS  for  music  and  conversation  have  been  inaugurated 
by  a  pleasant  gathering  in  the  Reception  Room.  Two  of  the 
Seniors,  assisted  by  a  Junior,  performed  the  duties  of  hostesses.  The 
large  bay  window  had  been  fitted  up  as  a  conservatory,  and  with 
snowy  callas  and  blushing  roses,  was  fair  to  behold.  Small  groups 
gathered  around  tables  in  cosy  corners  where  books,  engravings,  and 
photographic  views  had  been  placed  to  provoke  easy  conversation  on 
subjects  above  the  routine  of  the  work-a-day  life.  The  rector  threw 
open  his  study;  and  around  his  center-table  we  saw  an  animated 
group,  to  whom  he  was  showing  sketches  he  had  made  when  abroad, 
and  answering  questions  the  pictures  suggested.  Another  group  had 
gathered  around  our  special  artist,  who  was  exhibiting  and  explain- 
ing her  "log,"  by  which  nautical  title  she  designates  her  illustrated 
notebook  of  foreign  travel.  There  was  music  of  both  the  voice  and 
the  piano;  for  one  especial  object  of  such  evenings  is  the  encourage- 
ment of  our  young  musicians,  by  giving  them  opportunities  to  be 
heard. 


146 


CHAPTER  XI 

HE  Trustee  Meeting  of  April,  1882,  was  one 
of  the  most  important  that  the  Trustees  have 
held  since  the  founding  of  St.  Mary's 
School ;  it  was  largely  attended,  nearly  all 
the  twenty-four  Trustees  being  present.  Among  these 
were  the  three  Bishops  of  Illinois.  The  new  Trustees 
elected  were  the  Rev.  R.  A.  Holland,  Rector  of  Trinity 
Church,  Chicago;  the  Rev.  F.  W.  Taylor,  of  Danville; 
Mr.  R.  F.  Newcomb,  of  Quincy;  and  Mr.  H.  H. 
Candee,  of  Cairo. 

The  Rector  made  a  verbal  report  of  the  condition  of  the  School. 
There  are  now,  he  said,  ninety  boarding  pupils,  and  thirty-seven  who 
reside  in  Knoxville  and  vicinity.  The  Music  Department,  under 
Prof.  Laux,  is  attaining  a  reputation  second  to  none  in  the  West,  and 
the  school  is  widely  known  as  offering  unusual  advantages  in  French, 
under  the  instruction  of  Madame  Bouvet.  The  Art  Department,  un- 
der Miss  Dewey,  has  become  very  popular,  and  is  as  large  as  can  be 
managed  in  the  present  Studio.  Several  hundred  dollars  have  been 
expended  this  year  for  oil  and  water-color  studies  and  plaster  casts. 
All  the  pupils,  in  drawing,  work  from  models.  The  decoration  of 
china  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  branches  of  this  department. 

The  Rector  also  reported  extensive  improvements  nearly  com- 
pleted. These  have  been  carried  even  further  than  reported,  including 
the  reform  of  the  old  drainage  system,  and  the  replacing  it  by  one 
more  safe  and  efficient.  This  is  a  vital  point  in  so  extensive  an  es- 
tablishment, and  justifies  large  expenditure. 

The  main  business  of  the  meeting  was  the  reorganization  of  the 
Board  under  the  general  law.  The  conditions  of  the  old  Charter  have 

147 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

been  from  the  opening  of  St.  Mary's  School  an  embarrassment,  but 
for  various  reasons  action  has  been  delayed.  The  proposed  change  will 
secure  all  that  is  desired,  and  reconstitute  the  Board  so  that  it  will  be 
truly  representative  of  all  the  Dioceses  of  the  Province,  as  well  as  of 
the  -local  interests  at  Knoxville. 

The  papers  for  the  new  corporation  have  been  drawn,  and  will 
soon  be  ready  to  file  with  the  Secretary  of  the  State.  St.  Mary's  will 
then  be  in  a  position  of  assured  and  permanent  success,  as  an  Insti- 
tution of  the  Church  throughout  Illinois  with  a  patronage  extending 
far  beyond. 

FRIDAY  EVENING  LETTERS 

(During  the  Rector's  absence  as  deputy  to  the  General  Convention,  he 
wrote,  each  week,  a  letter  to  be  read  on  Friday  evening,  at  the  hour  when, 
had  he  been  at  home,  he  himself  would  have  been  reading  to  the  family 
assembled  in  the  Library  with  their  sewing.) 

New  York,  October  5,  1880. 
My  dear  School  Family: 

PERHAPS  you  will  like  to  hear  from  me,  now  and  then,  during 
the  long  month  of  absence  which  must  separate  us.  So  the  first 
thing  I  do,  after  getting  settled  in  mine  inn,  shall  be  to  write  you  of 
the  haps  and  mishaps  of  the  journey,  though  I  have  nothing  very  in- 
teresting or  exciting  to  tell  you.  A  journey  to  New  York  nowadays 
is  a  monotonous  affair,  not  much  like  the  journeys  that  your  fathers 
took  forty  years  ago,  when  Illinois  was  the  "far  West."  I  came  by 
the  B.  &  O.  road,  which  is  surely  "the  longest  way  around,"  if  it  be 
not  "the  shortest  way  there."  It  is  a  very  crooked  road.  It  passes 
through  a  picturesque  region  over  the  mountains  of  Western  Vir- 
ginia, and  many  a  twist  and  turn  it  has  to  make  in  climbing  the  hills. 

Early  in  the  morning,  after  a  night  of  shaking  and  jolting,  I 
went  forward  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  engineer  and  succeeded 
in  getting  a  place  on  the  engine.  It  is  a  rare  treat  to  ride  on  the  engine, 
for  an  hour  or  two;  but  after  awhile  it  is  very  tiresome,  for  the  jolt- 
ing. It  was  a  beautiful  October  morning,  and  the  splendor  of  autumn 
rested  on  the  hills.  It  seemed  as  though  the  glory  of  the  Lord  had 
covered  them.  From  the  valleys,  where  the  sun  had  not  yet  penetrated, 
the  colors  rippled  along  the  hillsides,  till  they  rose,  wave  upon 
wave  of  gold  and  crimson  and  purple  and  green,  to  the  summit. 

For  a  long  way  we  toiled  up  hill;  the  iron  horse  worked  with 

148 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

all  his  might,  and  the  fireman  kept  feeding  him  with  coal,  and  oiling 
his  joints,  and  poking  him  in  the  ribs,  and  giving  him  water.  It  was 
a  hard  pull.  He  snorted  and  screamed  and  kicked  and  shook  himself 
angrily;  and  when  he  came  to  go  down  on  the  other  side,  he  had  his 
revenge.  It  did  seem  as  though  he  would  tear  everything  to  pieces. 
At  every  curve  he  made  a  spring,  and  tried  to  jump  off  the  track;  but 
the  steel  reins  held  him  to  the  course  and  saved  us  from  dashing  down 
every  precipice,  and  smashing  against  every  cliff.  Now  he  is  tearing 
along,  at  terrific  speed,  towards  a  high  hill,  as  if  determined  to  plough 
right  through  it.  So  far  as  I  can  see,  there  is  no  escape  to  right  or 
left.  I  look  at  the  engineer  to  see  if  he  has  gone  mad.  But  he  is 
perfectly  calm.  He  couldn't  be  more  composed  if  he  were  driving  Mrs. 
Leffingwell's  yellow  horse.  The  engineer,  as  I  said,  seemed  disposed 
to  take  things  cooly.  I  just  held  on,  and  waited  to  see  what  would  be- 
come of  that  hill.  Just  as  I  thought  we  were  going  to  smash  it  all  to 
pieces,  the  engine  leaned  over  and  curved  around  gracefully  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  and  made  a  dash  for  another  hill.  And  how  do  you 
suppose  we  got  to  the  other  side  of  that  hill?  Why,  we  went  right 
through  it!  Luckily,  before  we  came  along,  somebody  had  cut  a  hole 
through,  just  where  we  struck  it ! 

THERE  are  lessons  in  Locomotives,  as  well  as  "sermons  in 
stones."  We  are  going  on  through  life  along  a  track  which 
God's  Providence  has  laid  for  us.  If  we  are  true  to  our  calling,  as 
the  locomotive  is  to  its  calling,  we  shall  have  a  safe  and  successful 
journey.  If  we  jump  the  track,  we  shall  get  badly  injured,  perhaps 
be  ruined.  There  may  be  some  up  grades,  but  we  must  work  the 
harder,  for  the  time.  You  can't  always  go  down  hill;  you  must  toil 
up  if  you  would  slide  down.  And  you  must  not  be  afraid  of  hills.  Go 
right  on,  and  don't  worry  till  you  come  to  them.  You  will  always 
find  that  some  one  has  made  a  tunnel  for  you  to  go  through.  Even 
if  you  have  to  stop  to  tunnel  your  own  way,  don't  be  afraid.  The 
Golden  River  and  its  valley  of  abundance  lie  beyond  the  mountains, 
and  thither  you  must  work  your  way.  "There  remaineth  a  rest,"  but 
it  is  not  yet.  Affectionately, 

Your  Rector. 


149 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
A  POP  CORN  FROLIC 

FLAMING  advertisements,  dealing  largely  in  capitals  and  exclam- 
ation points,  met  the  gaze  of  St.  Mary's  girls,  from  every  con- 
spicuous place  in  the  halls. 

A  POP-CORN  PARTY  !  ! 

Will  be  given, 

In  the  Dining  Room 

of  St.  Mary's   !    ! 

By  the  Class  of  '84   !    ! 

Saturday  eve,  Jan.  28,  1882. 

MUSIC  AND  DANCING    !    ! 

Admission  10  cents. 

The  callow  poet  whose  lament  over  vanished  "popping  days'* 
was  so  pathetic,  on  Thanksgiving  day  must  have  felt  her  heart 
rejoice  in  the  prospect  of  the  coming  feast.  Judging  from  the  treasury 
box,  next  day  several  other  hearts  must  have  throbbed  in  unison. 

Early  Saturday  morning,  the  class  of  '84,  armed  with  spoons, 
pans,  aprons,  and  corn,  descended  to  Madame's  room,  and  began  prep- 
arations. Bursts  of  laughter,  busy  talk,  the  delightful  sound  of  "pop- 
ping," and  the  savory  odor  thereof,  ascended  as  high  to  heaven  as  the 
third  story,  and  strongly  recommended  good  things  to  come.  Several 
crafty  "runners"  evinced  great  talent  in  the  commercial  agency  line, 
and  pervaded  the  house,  eating  pop-corn  balls  which  they  did  not  offer 
to  share,  but  devoured  with  tantalizing  relish. 

Mrs.  Leffingwell  kindly  gave  up  the  dining  room,  early  in  the 
afternoon,  and  by  seven  o'clock  everything  was  ready.  The  school 
bell  was  rung,  and  the  impatient  guests  came  crowding  down,  two 
and  two.  The  "Hall"  was  well  lighted,  and  looked  very  pretty. 

Four  tables  stood  in  corners  of  the  room,  covered  with  white, 
and  festooned  with  aesthetic  looking  pink  drapery.  The  girls  in  charge 
wore  little  muslin  aprons  and  fancy  lace  caps.  The  tables  were  loaded 
with  pop-corn,  in  all  shapes  and  fashions,  and  looked  tempting  enough 
to  persuade  any  one  to  invest,  even  without  the  alluring  placards  ex- 
hibited. 

The  following  poetical  attempt  was  much  admired  by  everybody, 
and  was  eventually  auctioned  off  for  fifty  cents.  We  hope  the  Bard 
did  not  exhaust  herself  in  this  effort. 


150 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
CORN-SELLER'S  SONG 


i 


F  corn  with  milk 
You'd  like  to  try, 
Just  walk  right  up,  and  buy!  buy!  buy! 
Of  it  there  is  a  large  supply; 
Or  if  in  bags  you'd  like 

A  store, 
You'll  find  of  that 

There  is  still  more! 
So  come  again,  and  say 

Encore ! 
If  still  you  wish 

Another  kind, 
Come  right  along, 

Don't  stay  behind, 
The  best  of  Pop-corn  Balls 
You'll  find! 

The  latter  kind  proved  the  chief  attraction,  and  several  mammoth 
special  orders  were  displayed  in  some  booths.  Very  soon,  balls  and  bags, 
"pop-corn  with  milk,"  and  even  the  unsatisfactory  dainty  "pop-corn 
on  a  tooth  pick,"  were  circulated  through  the  room.  In  a  surprisingly 
short  time  the  entire  stock  was  exhausted;  the  tables  were  empty, 
and  the  treasury  was  full ! 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  orchestra,  which  was  represented  by  a 
musical  Ethiop  with  his  violin,  the  dancing  began.  It  was  heartily 
enjoyed,  though  the  caller's  voice  was  very  faint  and  seldom  heard! 
But  everyone  flew  around  at  her  own  sweet  will,  hopelessly  mixing 
up  the  figures,  and  having  a  jolly  time. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  retiring-bell  rang  (as  it  always  does,  no  matter 
how  great  the  occasion).  The  company  reluctantly  dispersed,  not 
forgetting  many  compliments  and  much  kindly  praise  to  the  class  of 
'84,  whose  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  chapel  fund  had  been  crowned  with 
such  success.  The  hostesses  went  to  their  rooms,  weary  and  happy,  to 
dream  of  the  beautiful  Chapel  at  St.  Mary's  which  they  had  helped 
to  build.  — Lucretia  Roberts. 


151 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 
PEDESTRIANISM 

IT  has  been  said  that  American  girls  think  more  of  beauty  than 
they  do  of  health,  and  they  have  been  unfavorably  compared  with 
English  girls  in  that  they  are  pale  and  delicate,  while  their  transat- 
lantic cousins  are  ruddy  and  strong. 

We  of  the  class  of  '83  do  not  choose  to  be  classed  as  delicate, 
and  to  prove  that  we  are  not  delicate  we  determined  to  walk  to 
Galesburg,  a  distance  of  five  miles.  We  started  out  full  of  enthusiasm. 
There  were  eight  in  the  party,  including  Mr.  Rudd,  who  had  kindly 
consented  to  escort  us  and  "drive  off  the  tramps."  The  day  was  fine, 
the  air  exhilarating,  and  we  ourselves  were  in  the  best  of  spirits.  We 
took  the  railroad  track,  as  that  was  the  most  direct  route.  Nothing 
occurred  in  the  journey  to  dampen  our  spirits;  a  fall  of  one  of  the 
girls  through  a  cattle  guard  proving  to  be  more  exciting  than  serious, 
and  we  hailed  the  "halfway  stone"  with  surprise  that  we  had  walked 
two  miles  and  a  half  without  the  least  fatigue.  As  the  houses  and 
spires  of  Galesburg  came  nearer  and  nearer  into  view,  we  felt  like 
Darius  Green  when  he  was  just  on  the  point  of  surprising  the  world 
by  a  wonderful  feat,  only  we  accomplished  our  object,  and  Darius 
did  not. 

To  have  walked  five  miles  was  glory  enough  for  one  day.  We 
therefore  took  the  cars  home  instead  of  walking  on  the  track.  A  walk 
to  Galesburg  does  not  necessarily  imply  a  walk  from  it. 

We  were  greeted  on  all  sides  (as  we  approached  St.  Mary's  upon 
our  return)  with  "How  do  you  feel?"  "Did  you  walk  all  the  way?" 
etc.,  etc.  We  held  our  heads  very  high,  and  were  proud  to  answer 
that  we  were  entirely  free  from  the  grievous  ills  that  had  been 
predicted  before  we  started.  We  think  we  have  set  a  good  example,  for 
we  have  already  heard  other  undergraduates  planning  to  walk  to 
Galesburg. 


152 


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EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

THE  SEVEN  STAGES 

(Revised  Edition) 

THIS  our  world's  a  school, 
And  all  the  girls  and  (2)  boys  are  busy  students; 
They  have  their  zeros  oftener  than  their  plusses; 
And  in  her  time  each  enters  many  classes, 
And  acts  in  seven  stages.  At  first,  the  Primary, 
Making  wry  faces  at  the  A,  B,  C's ;  / 

Then  the  Preparatory,  laboring  with 
The  dread  three  "R's,"  and  creeping  like  a  snail, 
Upon  her  way  through  school ;  and  then,  the  Junior, 
Sighing  like  a  furnace,  with  woeful  essay 
Upon  the  First  Crusade.  Then  the  Junior  Middle, 
Full  of  strange  thoughts,  and  studying  like  a  savant, 
Bright  in  class,  sudden  and  quick  in  debate; 
Seeking  to  win  five  plus  and  reputation 
Even  in  Geometry;  and  then,  the  Senior  Middle, 
Deep  in  Literature,  and  struggling  with  Astronomy, 
Full  of  strange  conceits  and  modern  sciences. 
And  so  she  plays  her  part.  The  sixth  stage  shifts  her 
Into  the  grave  and  reverend  Senior; 

With  head  well  up,  and  crammed  with  wondrous  knowledge, 
Ten  times  too  much  for  her  small  brain  to  carry. 
Last  stage  of  all,  that  ends  this  strange  career,  and  checkered, 
Finds  her,  Post  Graduate,  in  a  long-trailed  dress, 
And  her  hair  done  high;  in  mere  oblivion 
Of  mathematics  and  all  the  'ologies; 
Sans  marks,  sans  Doomsday  book,  sans — everything! 

— Maude  Cahill,  '83. 


153 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  OF  ENGLAND 

THE  last  lecture  of  the  season  was  delivered  by  Mr.  Bigsby,  of 
Oxford,  England.  His  subject  was  Rugby  and  its  beloved  head 
master,  Arnold. 

Mr.  Bigsby,  having  himself  been  a  Rugby  boy,  knew  every  nook 
and  corner  of  the  old  place,  and  the  way  he  had  of  telling  his  experi- 
ence was  indeed  delightful.  He  did  not  confine  himself  to  Rugby 
alone,  but  took  us  on  an  imaginary  visit  to  other  public  schools  of 
England;  to  Winchester,  founded  by  William  of  Wykeham,  and  to 
Royal  Eton — royal  because  it  enjoys  the  favor  of  the  Queen.  Then 
he  took  us  on  to  "his  Rugby,"  in  which  everyone  that  has  read  Tom 
Brown  s  Schooldays  was  interested. 

His  account  of  "Ladies'  Day,"  when  the  boat  races  are  held  and 
the  Queen  stands  upon  the  bridge  to  be  saluted  by  each  boat  as  it 
passes  beneath  the  bridge,  made  each  hearer  wish  that  she  might 
sometime  be  an  eye  witness  of  the  scene.  When  we  heard  that  the 
boys  were  often  kept  there  all  their  holidays  to  make  up  lessons  and 
finish  "impositions,"  it  made  us  feel  as  if  even  the  Saturday  tasks 
of  St.  Mary's  were  not  so  very  severe. 

Mr.  Bigsby  closed  his  lecture  with  a  description  of  Arnold's 
farewell  to  Rugby,  when  he  accepted  a  professorship  at  Oxford. 
Arnold  had  brought  Rugby  out  of  the  disgrace  into  which  it  had 
fallen,  and  made  it  one  of  the  best  public  schools  in  England. 

The  strict  attention  given  Mr.  Bigsby  by  the  young  ladies  is 
shown  by  the  frequent  allusions  that  are  made  to  his  lecture,  and 
the  quotations  we  hear.  The  favorite  one  seems  to  be  the  motto 
that  is  written  over  the  Library  door  at  Rugby : 

"When  lands  are  gone  and  money  spent, 
Learning  is  most  excellent." 

Mr.  Bigsby  left  in  the  minds  of  St.  Mary's  girls  a  great  desire 
to  know  what  he  thought  of  young  ladies'  boarding  schools  in  America. 
Perhaps  on  his  return  to  England  his  subject  will  be  Schools  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  If  so,  may  some  of  us  be  there  to  hear ! 

— Helen  C.  Benedict.  '82. 


154 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
"COMING  BACK" 

A  YEAR  of  boarding-school  life  is  marked  by  two  distinct  eras, 
equally  important  and  eventful,  alike  unparalleled  in  clamor 
and  confusion.  They  are  unmistakably  distinguished  from  each  other 
by  the  varying  emotions  they  produce. 

For  those  who  have  yet  to  know  the  rapturous  sensations  of  pack- 
ing, locking,  and  checking;  of  the  hearts  full  of  joyous  anticipations 
which  belong  to  the  "going  home"  era,  I  will  not  lift  the  veil;  but 
as  all  have  recently  experienced  the  "coming  back"  period,  it  can  not 
be  treason  to  disclose  its  various  phases,  for  the  benefit  of  the  un- 
initiated. 

To  old  girls  who  have  learned  to  love  St.  Mary's  as  a  second 
home,  the  day  is  a  joyful  one  which  again  unites  long  separated  school 
friends  in  one  happy  family.  The  evident  satisfaction  with  which  we 
find  ourselves  here  again,  for  ten  more  months  of  the  study  that 
serves  for  "ornament  and  delight,"  seems  truly  heartless  to  the  dis- 
consolate maidens  who  are  struggling  bravely  (or  otherwise)  with 
homesickness. 

Indeed,  St.  Mary's  usually  opens  with  an  indoor  atmosphere  of 
April  weather;  for  sunshine  and  clouds,  smiles  and  tears,  are  striving 
each  for  predominance,  with  rather  complicated  result.  Gay  confu- 
sion reigns  supreme,  for  no  one  cares  to  get  settled  systematically. 
A  few  dresses  are  brought  out,  a  hat-box  is  set  on  the  closet-shelf, 
and  bureau  drawers  are  peeped  into  with  an  eye  to  future  arrange- 
ments; but  the  next  moment  we  are  flying  off  to  greet  a  newcomer, 
and  are  soon  blissfully  forgetful  of  such  stern  realities  as  unpacking 
and  regulating.  Alas!  sweet  dream  of  idleness  and  ease,  thou  dost 
belong  alone  to  "coming  back"!  Soon  the  Doomsday  Book  will  bear 
fell  records  of  careless  rooms  and  consequences  dire!  But  still,  suffi- 
cient to  its  day  will  be  this  coming  evil;  so  let  us  enjoy  the  happy 
present  while  we  may. 

"Coming  back"  is  unusually  interesting  and  important  this  year, 
for  the  new  building  with  its  pillared  entrance  and  towered  roof, 
its  "storied  windows  richly  dight,"  and  belfry  pointing  heavenward, 
is  new  to  us  all,  and  we  are  constantly  finding  "something  else"  to 
admire.  It  is  surely  worth  the  stings  and  arrows  of  home-leaving, 
to  work  amid  such  beautiful  surroundings. 


155 


A 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

THE  ALPHABET  OF  '82 

(Among  the  Thanksgiving  Dinner  Rhymes) 

IS  for  Atkins,  so  sweet  and  so  fair, 
Renowned  for  her  playing  as  well  as  her  hair. 

B    is  for  Belle,  fond  of  argumentation, 

Who  speaks  out  her  mind  and  creates  a  sensation. 

C    is  for  Clara,  let  her  dignity  pass, 

For  is  she  not  chief  of  the  grave  senior  class? 

D    is  for  Daisy  who  has  left  us  all  here, 

Enjoying  at  present  our  Thanksgiving  cheer. 

E    is  for  Emma,  with  most  beautiful  hair, 

And  so  wonderfully  sweet  that  for  her  we  all  care. 

F  is  for  Familia,  as  fresh  as  a  rose, 

No  fault  in  her  face,  excepting  her  nose. 

G    is  for  Green,  but  only  in  name, 

Although  it  is  true  from  the  country  she  came. 

H    is  for  Hattie,  as  straight  as  a  Post, 

And  yet  in  her  bearing  she  equals  a  host. 

I     is  for  Ida,  we  wish  there  were  Moor, 

Who  much  of  book  knowledge  is  trying  to  store. 

K    is  for  Knowles,  a  child  of  much  Grace, 
"Pacific"  in  action  as  well  as  in  face. 

L    is  for  Leffingwell,  Sarah  by  name, 

We  hope  she  may  ever  preserve  its  fair  fame. 

M  is  for  Maud,  who  of  sense  has  the  most, 
But  we  hear  she  intends  becoming  a  ghost. 

N    is  for  Neen,  a  silly  young  creature 

Who  blistered  with  acid  her  prominent  feature. 

O    is  for  Ogden,  a  true  "Belle"  is  she, 

And  in  this  I  am  sure  the  whole  school  will  agree. 

P    is  for  Parsons,  who  is  way  above  "Par," 

"May"  she  e'er  be  a  "Pearl"  and  shine  like  a  star. 

Q    is  for  Quincy,  many  girls  has  she  sent 

To  enliven  St.  Mary's  with  their  gay  merriment. 

156 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

R    is  for  Reed,  who  Ophelia  will  be 

In  the  play  to  be  given  by  renowned  '83. 

S    is  for  Scott,  of  so  sober  a  mien 

Who,  as  all  will  admit,  seldom  laughing  is  seen. 

T    is  for  Tompkins,  of  musical  fame, 

Who  to  us  from  the  wilds  of  Omaha  came. 

U    is  for  Us,  a  frolicking  crowd 

Who  sometimes  get  marks  for  laughing  too  loud. 

V  is  for  Van  Bergen,  a  name  without  rhyme; 
To  such  aspiration  my  muse  cannot  climb. 

W  is  for  Warring,  far  away  in  the  east, 

Where  we  hope  he,  like  us,  is  enjoying  the  feast. 

X    is  for  Xerxes  of  historical  fame, 

Renowned  because  X  commences  his  name. 

Y  is  for  "Yes,"  which  we  hope  you  will  say 
When  tomorrow  we  ask  for  a  holiday. 

Z    is  a  letter  my  efforts  defying, 

So  really  at  last  I'll  have  to  stop  trying. 

And  unto  all,  both  great  and  small, 
I  now  shall  sing  a  toast: 

"Long  live  us  all,  both  great  and  small, 

Of  this  renowned  host."  «tjs  F0tjr  " 

ONE  night,  recently,  the  hour  usually  devoted  to  study  was  spent 
in  listening  to  a  lecture  entitled  "The  Old  Oaken  Bucket,"  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Delafield  of  Chicago.  In  glowing  terms  he  painted  the 
charms  of  the  old  country  home, 

"The  wide-spreading  pond  and  the  mill  that, stood  by  it, 
The  bridge  and  the  rocks  where  the  cataract  fell," 

until  we  almost  felt  transported  to  this  well-known  spot,  and  readily 
joined  in  the  song  that  followed  the.  lecture: 

"How  dear  to  my  heart  are  the  scenes  of  my  childhood." 

Hearty  applause  frequently  interrupted  the  speaker;  and  hearty 
thanks  were,  at  the  close  of  the  lecture,  tendered  him  for  a  delight- 
fully spent  evening. 

157 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

BISHOP  HARE,  missionary  bishop  among  the  Indians  in  Nio- 
brara, visited  the  School,  and  gave  a  very  interesting  address  on 
his  work  among  the  Dakotas.  He  spoke  of  several  schools  that  had  been 
founded,  and  of  the  intelligence  of  the  Indian  boys  and  girls;  how 
they  were  taught  to  learn,  and  how  this  strong  missionary  work  has 
transformed  the  wild  and  desperate  Indians  into  the  loving,  earnest 
workers  in  the  Church.  He  told  us  of  his  surpliced  choir;  and  al- 
though a  choir  of  white  boys  in  their  surplices  is  pretty,  he  thought 
his  Indian  boys  with  their  dark  faces  and  darker  hair,  in  contrast 
to  the  pure  white  robes,  looked  even  prettier.  He  closed  by  telling; 
how  this  work  was  progressing,  but  that  more  help  was  needed ;  and 
he  hoped  some  day  that  some  of  St.  Mary's  girls  might  be  called  to 
help  carry  on  this  western  work.  When  he  had  finished  speaking 
there  was  scarcely  one  among  the  hearers  who  did  not  feel  like 
offering  her  services,  then  and  there.  We  hope  to  meet  this  kind 
bishop  again;  and  he  may  be  sure  that  the  impression  that  he  gave 
of  his  noble  work,  is  a  lasting  one. 


ADVENT 
By  Miss  Hitchcock 

SWEET  sounds  are  those  that  wake 
From  hillside,  glen,  and  brake, 
When  nature  tells  us  that  the  Spring  is  born  ; 
Yet  sweeter  'tis  to  hear 
Our  Mother's  word  of  cheer, 
Her  New  Year's  greeting,  on  the  Advent  morn. 

List  to  the  Church's  voice ! 

Christians,  Awake!  Rejoice! 
Rejoice  ye,  for  your  Lord  is  nigh  at  hand; 

The  Day-Spring  from  on  high, 

The  "Long  Desired"  is  nigh, 
He,  in  whose  strength  ye  may  all  foes  withstand. 

Joy  in  the  Master's  grace! 

'Tis  yours  once  more  to  trace 
The  blessed  steps  of  His  most  holy  life, 

What  time  He  dwelt  on  earth, 

E'en  from  His  lowly  birth, 
Until  He  rose,  the  Victor  in  the  strife. 

158 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Rejoice!  each  rolling  year, 

Brings  your  salvation  near, 
And  nearer  than  when  first  ye  did  believe. 

Since  far  spent  is  the  night, 

In  armour  clad,  of  light, 
Stand  ready;  that  your  Lord  ye  may  receive. 

That  when  He  comes  again 

In  majesty  to  reign, 
With  i    m  to  life  immortal  ye  may  rise 

To  join  the  angels'  hymn, 

The  song  of  seraphim, 
The  everlasting  anthem  of  the  skies. 


A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL 

WAKE,  O  ye  Christians,  rejoice  on  this  morn, 
For  Christ  our  Redeemer  and  Saviour  is  born; 
Lift  your  glad  voices,  let  every  heart  sing, 
And  welcome  the  birth  of  Redeemer  and  King. 
Awake,  and  with  anthems  of  joy  and  of  cheer 
Praise  your  Creator  who  thus  crowns  the  year ; 
Wake,  O  ye  Christians,  rejoice,  happy  band, 
In  the  Lord  and  His  kingdom  of  glory  at  hand. 

Wake,  O  ye  Christians,  awake  and  arise, 

For  Jesus  awaits  now  your  first  sacrifice ; 

Give  it  in  praises,  in  prayers,  and  in  tears, 

'Tis  due  to  thy  Saviour,  let  love  banish  fears. 

Glory  to  God,  to  Emmanuel,  King, 

Let  all  on  this  day  His  high  praises  sing. 

Awake,  and  with  love  to  His  courts  onward  press, 

And  prayerfully  kneeling,  His  dear  Name  confess. 

Go  now  to  His  Table,  in  love  it  is  spread, 
And  ask  there  His  blessing,  for  you  it  is  shed; 
Go  kneel  at  the  altar  in  humility, 
Fulfill  the  command,  "In  remembrance  of  Me." 
Lord,  we  would  worship  and  praise  Thee  aright, 
And  do  what  is  holy  and  pure  in  Thy  sight ; 
Grant  us,  O  Saviour,  Thy  grace  freely  given, 
And  shield  us  from  harm  till  we  join  Thee  in  Heaven. 

— S.  M.  C,  '8i. 


159 


CHAPTER  XII 

LL  work  and  no  play  makes  Johanna  a  dull 
girl.  Possibly  in  these  chapters  so  much 
prominence  has  been  given  to  sports  and  rec- 
reations that  the  Johannas  of  our  Early  Days 
seem  to  have  had  all  play  and  no  work  I  As  for  work^ 
it  is  a  matter  of  routine  duty  and  plodding,  in  school 
as  elsewhere,  and  there  is  little  of  interest  to  say  about 
it.  It  is  in  play  that  we  have  the  spontaneous  expression 
of  young  life  and  the  spirit  of  the  school. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  Early  Days  (and  in  later  days) 
we  made  liberal  allowance  for  recreation.  In  this,  as 
well  as  in  the  serious  work  of  the  school,  officers  and 
teachers  were  interested  and  helpful.  And  there  was 
educational  value  in  our  entertainments,  musical,  dra- 
matic, and  spectacular;  there  was  good  exercise  for 
body  and  mind  in  our  games  and  celebrations,  excur- 
sions, commemorations,  and  competitions. 

Let  it  be  understood,  then,  that  play  has  always  been 
included  in  the  curriculum  of  St.  Mary's,  and  doubt- 
less it  always  will  be.  We  believe  in  work,  hard  work, 
but  not  in  all  work  and  nothing  but  work.  Strenuous 
work  is  healthy,  both  for  body  and  mind,  provided  it 
has  due  intervals  of  relaxation. 

It  may  be  thought  that  there  is  no  need  for  parents 
and  school  managers  to  order  or  encourage  such  inter- 
vals;   that    indolence    or    the    play-instinct    may    be 

160 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

depended  on  to  secure  more  than  enough  rest  and 
amusement,  and  that  the  first  duty  of  the  school  is  to 
stimulate  ambition  and  spur  the  young  mind  to  intense 
and  continued  exertion.  There  are,  indeed,  some  in- 
dolent and  indifferent  students  who  need  no  encourage- 
ment to  play  most  of  the  time.  But  many  girls  and 
young  women,  being  of  an  ardent  and  ambitious 
temperament,  are  in  danger  from  overwork.  The  de- 
sire to  stand  well  in  school,  to  improve  advantages 
secured  at  great  expense,  the  excitement  and  competi- 
tion of  school  exercises,  are  generally  sufficient  to  call 
out  their  best  efforts,  and  sometimes  to  tax  their  nervous 
system  beyond  its  strength.  Parents  and  teachers  are 
sometimes  at  fault  in  urging  girls  to  complete  the  course 
in  the  shortest  possible  time.  Students  are  stimulated 
by  prizes  and  other  motives  to  undue  exertion,  and  the 
school  becomes,  not  a  place  for  educating  (developing) 
body  and  mind,  but  a  cerebral  hothouse. 

Young  people  sometimes  have  the  idea  that  educa- 
tion is  the  going  through  a  certain  list  of  books,  rushing 
through  the  course  of  study  in  the  shortest  possible  time. 
They  think  it  to  their  credit  that  they  should  complete 
the  course  in  less  than  the  prescribed  time.  They  grad- 
uate before  they  have  attained  their  growth  of  body 
or  maturity  of  mind.  They  lose  their  elasticity  and 
spirit.  With  all  her  accomplishments,  Johanna  be- 
comes a  dull  girl. 

The  mind  must  have  time  to  grow,  to  mature  its 
powers.  A  well-balanced  mind,  a  clear  perception,  a 
steady  self-control,  a  sound  judgment,  are  developed 
by  time  and  judicious  training.  It  is  a  mistake  on  the 
part  of  parents  and  teachers  to  allow  a  girl  to  make 
herself  prematurely  old  by  overwork. 


161 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

AN  OLIMPICODE! 

By  Miss  Hitchcock 

POETS  in  their  labored  lays, 
If  they  like,  may  sing  the  praise 
Of  tiny  feet  with  sandals  shod, 
That  o'er  Olympic  hills  have  trod; 
May  sing,  if  such  a  theme  they  choose, 
The  buskin  of  the  tragic  Muse; 
Or  tell  how  'neath  fair  ladies'  tread 
E'en  the  slight  harebell  lifts  its  head. 
My  humble  Muse  will  not  refuse 
To  sing  the  praise  of  high-heeled  shoes! 

And  if  it  falls  out 

That  she  minces  and  tilts, 

And  goes  about 

Like  a  duck  upon  stilts, — 

If  she  limps  in  her  gait, 

'Tis  the  fashion  of  late; 

If  she  halts  in  her  verse, 

Pray  think  of  naught  worse 
Than  that  she  cannot  well  refuse 
To  hobble,  wearing  high-heeled  shoes. 

With  her  help,  I  will  prove  to  each  doubting  wight 
That  sandals  and  buskins  were  high-heeled  and  tight. 

If  in  rhymes  you'll  not  scrimp  us 

We'll  show  of  Olymp-us, 

That  the  nominative  case 

Becomes,  with  good  grace, 
What  I  need  not  parse,  for  plainly  you'll  see 
That  O-lymp-us  must  straightway  become 

O-limp-we ! 
And  why  did  they  limp,  unless  we  suppose 
That  like  modern  bells,  they  had  martyred  their  toes? 

And  doubtless  proud  Juno 

(Mrs.  Jupiter,  you  know), 

Who  is  oft  called  the  stately, 

Had  vexed  herself  greatly 

Had  her  slippers  been  "Three's," 

While  Venus,  with  ease, 

Had  worn  dainty  shoes 

That  were  marked  Number  Two's. 

162 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST,  MARTS 

Then  let  wiseacres  prate! 
We'll  not  alter  our  gait, 
For  they  of  Parnassus 
Shall  never  surpass  us, 
And  O-limp-ic  grace 
Shall  govern  our  pace; 
We'll  have  no  intervention 
Nor  heed  the  pretension 
That  nature  knows  best, 

And  would  have  us  refuse 
At  fashion's  behest 

To  wear  gimlet  heeled  shoes. 

In  spite  of  their  giggling 

We'll  not  cease  our  wriggling ; 

We'll  patter  and  clatter 

Though  they  cry,  "What's  the  matter?" 

Though  they  fly  in  a  passion, 

Secure  in  the  fashion 

Our  toes  we  will  squeeze 

As  much  as  we  please, 
Like  the  queer  folk  who  live  at  the  antipodes ; 
The  queer  folk  who  live  in  the  land  of  the  teas ; 
Whom  people  as  queer,  call  "Heathen  Chinese"! 

A  DAY  IN  THE  WOODS 

ONE  bright  October  morning,  a  few  weeks  ago,  a  merry  crowd 
of  girls  gathered  in  Miss  Hitchcock's  recitation-room,  prepar- 
atory to  an  expedition  to  the  woods  which  lie  over  the  hills  to  the 
northward.  All  are  dressed  for  a  scramble,  variously  equipped  with 
bags  and  baskets,  shawls  and  books,  ready  for  the  order,  "Forward, 
March"! 

They  advance,  some  steadily  onward  to  the  goal,  some  halting 
occasionally  to  rest  upon  the  green  sward  beside  the  road,  some 
lazily  bringing  up  the  rear  and  enlivening  the  journey  with  merry 
snatches  of  song.  Woodcutters,  like  those  of  whom  the  little  Princess 
Use  complained  bitterly,  as  the  German  class  will  remember,  had 
come  upon  the  hill  and  had  felled  the  oaks  and  burned  away  the 
hazel  bushes.  For  a  moment  the  gay  faces  were  clouded;  but  only 
for  a  moment.  There,  across  the  fence,  at  the  left,  were  more 
sheltering  trees  and  thick  crowded  hazel  bushes,  waiting  to  yield 
to  busy  hands  their  store  of  nuts.  The  party  proceeded  to  the  old 

163 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

camping  grounds  for  dinner,  in  order  to  be  near  the  spring  bubbling 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill. 

After  the  rations  were  eaten,  with  many  a  game  and  joke  going 
the  rounds,  the  girls  divided  into  groups.  Some  wended  their  way 
up  the  hill  and  across  the  road  to  the  hazel  bushes;  others  sat  down 
in  some  nook,  sheltered  from  the  rude  caresses  of  the  wind,  to  while 
away  the  beautiful  Indian  Summer  day  with  a  favorite  book,  and 
some,  the  little  folks,  went  to  wade  in  a  stream  near  by,  and  enjoy 
the  bliss  of  making  mud  pies. 

So  the  day  passed.  At  four  o'clock  they  all  gathered  by  the  road- 
side to  wait  for  the  big  wagon  which  was  to  convey  them  home.  The 
soft  autumnal  haze, 

"From  the  curved  horizon's  bound, 
To  the  point  of  heaven's  profound, 
Filled  the  overflowing  sky," 

and  rested  in  the  warm-colored  leaves  of  the  changing  trees.  How 
beautiful  were  the  brilliant  touches  of  color  which  here  and  there 
lit  up  the  woods  and  dells!  Only  too  soon  was  the  place  of  destina- 
tion reached,  and  the  party  entered  with  happy  remembrances  of 
their  "Day  in  the  Woods."  — Stella  Packard,  '8i. 

ST.  MARY'S  REVISITED 

Impressions  during  a  visit  after  an  absence  of  six  years. 
ANY  were  the  changes  that  caught  my  eye  in  every  direction; 


M 


but,  as  in  the  growth  of  the  children  and  the  trees  (not  to 
omit  a  vine  which  I  left  a  tiny  plant,  and  returned  to  find  reaching 
to  the  third  story  windows),  all  changes  were  for  the  better,  not  a 
retrograde  movement  was  to  be  detected.  All  that  art  and  comfort 
could  suggest  had  been  brought  into  requisition  for  elevating,  culti- 
vating, and  promoting  the  taste  and  happiness  of  those  who  may  be 
fortunate  enough  to  dwell  beneath  St.  Mary's  roof. 

As  I  review  the  past,  when  thirty-five  resident  pupils  was  a 
number  to  be  proud  of,  and  contrast  it  with  the  crowd  of  contented 
and  happy  faces,  as  they  passed  into  the  Study  Hall  for  the  beautiful 
morning  Service,  I  felt  that  Dr.  LeffingweH's  work,  aided  by  those 
who  had  entered  upon  it  with  him,  had  indeed  been  blest,  and  that 
such  a  school  was  an  ornament  and  an  incalculable  blessing  to  the 
Church. 

As  I  write,  the  sound  of  the  workman's  hammer  strikes  upon  my 

164 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

ear,  reminding  me  of  the  beautiful  and  much  needed  Chapel,  and 
which,  D.V.,  will  be  completed  by  another  autumn.  It  is  to  be 
connected  with  the  main  building  by  a  cloister.  When  all  the  addi- 
tions are  completed,  St.  Mary's  School  will  have  one  of  the  finest 
structures  for  school  purposes  in  the  country. 

While  I  can  not  but  write  in  the  most  glowing  terms  of  the  many 
changes  that  have  taken  place,  showing  a  marked  improvement  every- 
where, one  change  was  fraught  with  sadness  to  me.  Many  dear  and 
familiar  faces  were  missing;  some  had  gone  to  take  their  places 
in  the  world,  others  had  gone  to  their  rest,  where  they  no  longer 
need  the  protection  of  the  "Shadow  of  the  Cross." 

Fortunately  for  St.  Mary's,  no  one  is  missing  of  those  who  have 
made  the  School  what  it  is.  All  are  there  with  the  same  untiring  devo- 
tion, still  working  for  its  best  interests.  May  their  past  success  be  an 
earnest  of  the  future,  a  continual  and  increasing  crown  of  laurel. 

Good-bye,  dear  St.  Mary's!  May  you  stand  a  thousand  years, 
and  may  your  shadow  never  be  less.  — Pilgrim. 

A  LETTER  FROM  THE  RECTOR 

Written  during  a  Temporary  Absence. 

MY  DEAR  FAMILY:  As  I  can  not  be  with  you  today,  I  may 
spend  an  hour  with  you  in  imagination,  just  at  the  time  of 
your  "quiet  hour."  Perhaps  you  may  be  interested  in  a  description 
of  my  journey. 

It  is  something  of  a  trial  to  find  a  train  an  hour  late,  at  any 
time  of  day ;  but  the  calamity  becomes  almost  appalling  when  it  occurs 
at  night!  The  only  diversion  afforded  by  the  dreary  waiting  room 
was  the  lunch  counter.  There,  balanced  on  a  high  stool  with  a  small 
top,  you  may  picture  to  yourself  your  venerable  Rector,  taking  coffee 
and  sandwiches  at  midnight ! 

Our  immense  train  of  ten  or  twelve  cars  and  coaches  arrived  at 
P —  about  four  o'clock,  A.M.  I  think  I  have  never  looked  out  on  a 
more  beautiful  autumn  night.  There  were  no  signs  of  dawn  at  that 
hour.  The  heavens  were  resplendent  with  stars.  Glorious  Orion 
stretched  out  his  magnificent  constellation  nearly  in  mid-heaven,  and 
almost  in  the  zenith  shone  Saturn's  great  lamp.  Jupiter  was  not  far 
distant.  And  where,  thought  I,  is  Juno?  Why  is  it  that  there  is  a 
Jupiter  among  the  planets,  and  no  Juno? 

But  we  must  away.  The  hotel  is  a  mile  or  more  distant  in  the 

165 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

darkness  and  in  which  direction  I  know  not.  "An  omnibus  meets 
every  train,"  I  had  been  told.  But  where  is  the  "bus"?  Here  it  is,  a 
three-seated,  open  wagon!  Seven  people  already  embarked  in  it. 
"Plenty  of  room" !  shouts  John,  the  jolly  German,  who  is  engaged  in 
stowing  a  pile  of  baggage  between  the  feet  of  the  passengers.  Seven  and 
one  make  eight,  and  with  the  driver  there  are  nine.  We  were  full,  even 
on  the  most  liberal  omnibus  allowance.  There  we  sat,  for  full  five 
minutes,  waiting  for  mail  bags,  etc.,  when,  to  our  dismay,  an  old 
Dutch  woman  of  monstrous  size  loomed  up  in  view,  and  began  prep- 
arations to  ascend  the  already  overloaded  and  somewhat  rickety 
vehicle.  If  there  had  been  but  one  man  aboard,  of  course  he  would 
cheerfully  have  offered  to  walk  and  give  her  a  place;  but  as  there 
were  seven  of  us,  each  thought  the  other  better  able  to  walk  than 
himself,  and  nobody  moved.  But  John  was  not  to  be  discouraged,  and 
by  a  great  struggle,  the  old  lady  was  finally  landed  in  the  driver's 
place.  Then  John  mounted  the  dashboard,  took  his  lantern  in  his 
teeth,  reins  in  one  hand  and  whip  in  the  other,  and  we  went  at  good 
speed  towards  the  town.  The  disembarking  of  the  old  lady  at  her 
home  was  a  perilous  enterprise,  watched  with  breathless  interest  by 
the  passengers.  After  all  her  boxes  and  bundles  were  got  safely  to 
ground,  John  just  took  that  250  pounds  in  his  arms  and  put  it  down 
as  gently  as  you  could  handle  a  baby.  My  admiration  for  John  had 
been  growing  from  the  first.  I  like  jolly  people,  though  not  very 
jolly  myself;  and  when  I  find  a  man  cheery  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  I  want  to  count  that  man  among  my  friends.  We  sat  there 
in  the  cold  wind  while  John  carried  in  all  the  gepack,  and  nobody 
grumbled  or  scolded;  for  it  was  just  beautiful  to  see  how  good  and 
kind  John  was.  "Why,  John,"  said  one  of  the  passengers,  after  we 
had  taken  a  new  start,  "you  treated  the  old  woman  as  well  as  if  she 
were  pretty  as  a  rose"!  "I  treats  all  the  ladies  alike,"  said  John, 
"and  I  don't  count  age  against  anybody." 

At  the  hotel,  all  was  silence  and  sleep.  John  took  me  in  and  went 
with  me  exploring  for  a  room.  Where  he  found  a  door  unlocked,  he 
went  in.  From  one  room  he  came  out  rather  suddenly,  and  I  suspect 
the  occupant  took  him  for  a  burglar.  I  found  my  bed  this  morning  at 
daybreak.  The  pillows  were  small,  and  the  blankets  were  scant. 
But  there  were  Brussels  carpet  and  gas !  So  runs  the  world,  too  much 
gas  and  too  little  mantle  of  charity.  Good-bye,  for  a  time,  and  the 
Lord  be  with  you.  — C.  W.  L. 

Sept.  18,  1881. 

166 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

VASSAR  AND  THE  PROFESSORSHIPS 

By  Miss  Hitchcock 

THE  clause  in  Matthew  Vassar's  will  which  prohibits  women 
from  occupying  the  chair  he  proposed  to  endow  in  Vassar  Col- 
lege, has  been  severely  commented  upon  by  the  press.  The  college 
has  even  been  advised  to  refuse  the  bequest  as  an  insult  to  the  sex 
whose  "higher  education"  it  is  the  noble  aim  of  Vassar  College  to  ad- 
vance. 

Leaving  out  of  view  the  general  principle  that  a  man  may  do 
what  he  will  with  his  own,  we  still  fail  to  appreciate  wherein  Mr. 
Vassar  has  offended.  Nay,  we  would  even  go  farther,  and  say  that 
there  is  wisdom  in  the  clause,  far-sighted  wisdom,  which  would  secure 
Vassar  against  the  possible  misfortune  of  having  the  masculine  ele- 
ment inadequately  represented  in  the  faculty.  As  the  higher  edu- 
cation of  woman  advances,  and  as  Vassar  comes  to  num- 
ber among  her  graduates  women  whose  erudition  the  most  learned 
acknowledge,  and  whose  ripe  judgment  and  matured  scholarship 
might  well  grace  many  another  chair  as  that  of  Astronomy  is  now 
graced,  it  is  not  impossible  that  a  time  might  arrive  when  the  mascu- 
line intellect  would  have  no  more  representation  at  Vassar  than  the 
feminine  intellect  has  at  Harvard.  Now,  if  Mr.  Vassar  meant  to 
guard  against  such  a  possibility,  his  thought  was  a  wise  one,  and  that 
without  any  disparagement  of  woman.  The  college  of  Tennyson's 
Princess  is  not  an  ideal  desirable  to  be  realized.  For,  though  woman  is 
undoubtedly  the  best  educator,  it  is  equally  true  that  the  intellect  of 
woman  will  not  have  its  most  varied  and  completest  training  if  her 
instructors  are  all  of  her  own  sex. 

It  is  a  poor  rule,  however,  that  does  not  work  both  ways.  It  is 
time  something  were  done  for  the  "higher  education"  of  man.  While 
we  would  have  Vassar  thankfully  accept  the  bequest,  condition  and 
all,  we  would  have  the  world  consider  the  benighted  condition  of  the 
colleges  for  the  "opposite  sex."  And  perhaps  some  testator,  with  wis- 
dom to  perceive  that  the  intellect  of  man  cannot  have  its  full  devel- 
opment without  the  training  hand  of  woman,  will  endow  a  professor- 
ship at  Harvard  from  which  man  shall  be  forever  excluded! 


167 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
THE  LAUNCHING  OF  THE  BOAT 

FOR  many  weeks  the  girls  had  been  looking  forward  with  interest 
to  the  affair  which  was  to  make  a  decided  break  in  the  monotony 
of  school  life.  Occasional  glimpses  of  a  new  boat  had  been  afforded 
them,  which  served  but  to  increase  their  desire  to  use  it. 

On  a  bright  May  evening,  the  Rector  declared  the  boat  ready  for 
use ;  the  oars  had  arrived,  the  paint  was  dry,  and  now  the  Pond  Lily 
should  be  launched.  Strength  only  was  wanting  to  bear  the  boat  from 
the  carriage-house  to  the  lake.  The  proposition  that  the  school  should 
supply  that  deficiency  was  eagerly  assented  to;  and  soon  after  tea  a 
party  of  athletic  maidens  were  seen  emerging  from  the  yard  and 
making  their  way  with  their  cumbersome  load  across  the  lawn.  They 
were  joined  at  the  water's  edge  by  others;  and  there,  in  the  presence 
of  pupils  and  teachers,  the  boat  was  launched. 

The  privilege  of  the  first  ride  belonged,  of  course,  to  the  Rector 
and  his  wife,  who  "shoved  their  light  shallop  from  the  shore,"  amid 
the  joyous  cheers  and  loving  acclamations  of  the  party  on  the  land. 
How  beautifully  the  little  boat  glided  over  the  bright  waters!  It 
needed  but  one  stroke  to  show  us  that  a  masterhand  was  at  the 
oars.  The  Rector's  party  made  the  grand  tour,  were  saluted  by  another 
group  as  they  approached  the  bridge;  returning,  they  went  to  the 
head  of  the  lake,  and  inspected  the  falls! 

Once  launched,  the  Pond  Lily  was  in  great  demand,  till  the  bell 
sounded  for  prayers.  Those  who  had  taken  no  part  in  the  series  of 
boatrides  of  that  first  evening,  engaged  the  craft  for  the  earliest 
possible  moment  of  the  following  day,  and  that  was  before  the  rising 
bell. 

Such  is  the  history  of  the  early  navigation  of  Mirror  Lake.  Since 
then  the  interest  has  never  slackened,  though  many  a  luckless  damsel 
has  been  precipitated  over  the  boat's  edge  into  the  sparkling  depths  (?) 
below.  The  inexperienced  rowers  who  find  the  shores  mysteriously 
near  each  other,  take,  nevertheless,  great  pleasure  on  the  sunny  waters 
of  Mirror  Lake.  — Sophie  Chase. 


168 


C 

H 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
A  RHYME  OF  RESCUE 

FAIR  Ida  was  a  sailor  bold, 
Of  water  she  was  fond, 
But  she  who  had  no  fear  of  waves 
One  day  fell  in  the  pond. 

This  comic  tragedy  occurred 

Near  to  St.  Mary's  School, 
When  she  and  Gladys  dear,  set  out 

To  row  around  the  pool. 

"See  me !"  quoth  Ida,  "I  can  stand 
And  keep  my  balance  true, 
Though  winds  may  roar  and  waves  may  roll, 
And  skies  be  black  and  blue. 

"I  came  from  Cleveland,  don't  you  know! 
I've  got  my  sea  legs  on. 
Let's  rock  the  boat  and  splash  around; 
Oh,  we'll  have  lots  of  fun." 

Then  splash  around  indeed  she  did, 

For  overboard  she  fell ; 
A  blank  surprise  was  in  her  eyes, 

Her  terror  none  can  tell. 

"Come,  pull  me  out,  I'm  sinking  fast! 
Oh,  this  is  awful  luck! 
How  can  you  sit  and  laugh  at  me 
While  in  the  mud  I'm  stuck?" 

Then  Gladys  urged  the  wayward  boat 
And  rowed  with  all  her  might; 

It  would  not  go  the  way  it  should, 
Oh,  what  a  sorry  plight! 

Poor  Ida  shrieked  and  struggled  on; 
Gladys  at  last  drew  near. 
"Oh,  I  am  saved!"  the  former  cried, 
And  wiped  away  a  tear. 

But  all  in  vain  the  tug  and  strain, 
Despair  now  follows  laughter. 
"Pull  for  the  shore!"  the  victim  cried, 
"And  I'll  come  floundering  after." 

169 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

"One  oar  is  gone,  I  cannot  pull!" 
"Then  push!  be  quick,  be  quicker! 
I'm  getting  cold,  I've  got  a  chill, 
The  mud  is  getting  thicker." 

They  reached  at  last  the  sedgy  shore 

Where  weeds  the  feet  did  tangle, 
And  Ida's  case  was  all  the  worse; 

Her  nerves  were  in  a  jangle. 

"Help,  help!  more  help!"  she  feebly  cried. 

"I  cannot  move  a  muscle." 
While  with  the  mud  and  water-cress 
She  had  a  furious  tussle. 

Then  to  the  rescue,  brave  and  true, 

Strong  Henrie  Walker  came; 
Her  eyes  were  full  of  western  fire, 

Her  cheeks  were  all  aflame. 

"Trust  me !"  she  said,  "my  room-mate  dear, 
I've  come  your  life  to  save, 
I'll  pull  you  out,  although  your  boots 
May  find  a  watery  grave." 

A  sturdy  grasp,  a  desperate  pull ; 

The  clinging  weeds  give  way, 
And  Ida's  mud-bedraggled  form 

Comes  to  the  light  of  day. 

The  shipwrecked  maid  is  saved  at  last, 

The  gallant  deed  is  done; 
Gladys  and  Henrie  shall  be  praised 

From  rise  to  set  of  sun. 

W.  L. 


TWO  of  St.  Mary's  girls,  Mrs.  Law  (Lura  Davis)  and  her 
sister  Maria,  are  building  a  church  in  Henry,  Illinois.  They 
build  it  completely  themselves,  with  the  intention  of  presenting  it 
when  it  shall  be  entirely  finished.  To  the  Rector  of  St.  Mary's  School 
this  holy  work  of  two  of  his  children  in  the  Lord,  baptized  by  him 
and  brought  by  him  to  Confirmation,  has  been  an  occasion  of  great 
thankfulness  and  rejoicing. 


170 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 

AFTER  Evensong,  the  family  assembled  in  the  drawing-room  to 
pay  their  respects  to  Bishop  Burgess.  As  this  was  his  first 
visit  this  year,  there  were  many  to  be  introduced  to  him.  Seats  were 
then  taken,  as  usual,  around  the  tables  in  the  library.  There  was 
not,  however,  the  usual  reading.  The  Rector  proposed  that,  instead, 
the  Bishop  should  "spin  a  yarn."  This  he  consented  to  do,  and  gave 
us  a  sea-story,  an  adventure  of  his  own,  when  as  a  boy  he  was  a  passen- 
ger on  a  sailing  vessel.  The  other  story  was  also  one  of  personal  ad- 
venture, a  most  interesting  incident  that  befel  him  in  Italy,  when 
in  his  youth  he  was  making  the  grand  tour.  All  were  thankful  to 
the  Bishop  for  the  delightful  entertainment,  and  echo  the  wish  of 
the  Rector  that  he  would  often  come  over  to  spend  Friday  evening 
with  us. 


THE  decision  of  Judge  Drummond  in  regard  to  the  will  of  Mr. 
Knox,  without  doubt  will  result  in  securing  to  St.  Mary's 
School  enough  to  build  the  east  wing,  though  it  may  be  with  a  delay 
of  several  years;  St.  Mary's  being  the  residuary  legatee,  after  Yale 
and  Hamilton  have  received  the  munificent  bequests  which  are  theirs 
by  the  Judge's  interpretation  of  the  will.  There  will,  however,  be 
abundant  opportunity  for  all  the  benefactions  of  those  who  may  be 
"ready  to  give,  and  glad  to  distribute  for  the  building  of  this  house." 
A  chapel  should  be  built,  scholarships  should  be  founded,  and  the 
institution  should  be  put  upon  a  basis  that  shall  extend  its  usefulness 
and  insure  its  perpetuity. 

DECEMBER  always  brings  with  it  merry  times,  and  one  of  these 
times  is  our  Rector's  birthday.  No  holiday  is  expected,  but  the 
merry-making  in  the  evening  is  almost  an  equivalent. 

After  prayers  the  family  assembled  in  the  drawing  room  to  await 
the  entrance  of  Dr.  Leffingwell.  (He  has  been  sent  for,  and  is  sup- 
posed to  be  very  much  surprised!)  On  this  last  birthday  he  was 
escorted  into  the  room  by  his  daughter  Alice,  and  then  was  read  the 
following  address: 

"Dr.  Leffingwell, 

"Our  Dear  Rector:  Again  the  5th  of  December  announces  your  birthday, 
and  again  your  family  meet  to  extend  to  you  hearty  congratulations.  We 
realize  at  this  time  more  than  at  any  other,  how  year  after  year  is  spent  by 
you  in  earnest  work  for  St.  Mary's,  making  strong  its  foundations  for  the 

171 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

future,  and  at  the  same  time  sowing  such  good  seed  into  each  young  heart 
as  will  surely  in  time  bring  forth  good  fruit. 

"We,  the  members  of  your  family,  add  to  our  congratulations  love  and 
appreciation.  Ever  in  each  heart  shall  be  stamped  the  image  of  your  love 
and  care;  and  when  some  of  us  leave  our  Alma  Mater  to  take  our  place 
in  the  world,  your  kind  advice  and  admonitions  shall  be  kept  in  mind. 

"Each  birthday  unfolds  a  new  page  in  your  life;  may  the  yet  unfolded 
pages  bear  as  bright  a  record  of  prosperous  work  as  those  we  already 
know,  and  may  many  birthdays  come  and  go  before  the  book  is  closed. 

"And  now,  with  great  heartiness,  we  all  wish  you  a  happy  birthday  and 
many  a  one  to  come." 


172 


CHAPTER  XIII 

OLLOWING  the  Decennial,  as  I  have  re- 
marked, school  work  and  play  went  on  from 
day  to  day,  from  year  to  year,  in  the  estab- 
lished order,  with  few  changes  or  notable 
events.  One  most  interesting  and  important  work,  how- 
ever, was  undertaken  with  enthusiasm,  in  the  early 
eighties,  and  completed  with  great  satisfaction,  the 
building  and  furnishing  of  the  Chapel.  For  many 
years  we  had  been  longing  for  it  and  discussing  ways 
and  means  of  getting  it.  It  was  good  for  us  to  work  for 
it  and  wait  for  it,  and  doubtless  we  had  a  finer  building 
than  would  have  been  possible  had  it  been  undertaken 
at  an  earlier  day. 

A  beautiful  church  indeed  it  is;  early  Gothic  in 
style,  built  of  light  grey  stone,  and  roofed  with  dark 
slate.  It  is  very  unlike  the  school  buildings,  both  in 
material  and  in  architecture,  yet  harmonizes  well  with 
the  group.  It  is  the  gem  of  the  collection.  We  thought 
we  could  build  it  for  $10,000,  but  it  cost  much  more 
than  that.  The  furnishings  are  all  gifts  of  teachers,  stu- 
dents, and  alumnae,  the  offerings  of  years.  The  altar  is 
principally  of  Caen  stone,  which  is  in  color  a  soft, 
creamy  white.  The  steps,  altar-slab,  and  shelves  of  reta- 
ble  are  of  white  marble,  and  the  panels  in  both  altar  and 
reredos  are  filled  with  tinted  alabaster.  The  central 
pinnacle  is  surmounted  by  a  cross,  thirteen  feet  above 

i73 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

the  floor  of  the  chancel.  On  each  side,  standing  nearly 
as  high  as  the  cross,  is  an  angel  carved  in  stone.  The 
altar  is  seven  feet  from  north  to  south,  the  retable  nine 
feet.  On  the  frontal,  in  letters  of  gold,  is  carved  the 
motto  of  the  School;  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for 
they  shall  see  God." 

The  furnishings  of  the  chancel  are  of  carved  oak, 
the  massive  font  of  white  marble.  The  Chapel  is  heated 
by  steam  and  lighted  by  electricity.  The  sheltered 
cloister  leads  directly  from  the  main  building  to  the 
entrance.  Over  the  altar  is  a  copy  of  Raphael's  glorious 
Transfiguration.  The  organ,  with  its  decorated  pipes, 
the  frescoed  walls  and  ceilings,  and  the  rich  glass  of 
the  memorial  windows,  add  the  beauty  of  color  to  the 
sacred  place.  The  great  west  window,  "The  Annuncia- 
tion," was  the  gift  of  the  alumnae.  The  open  timber 
ceiling  was  made  and  set  up  in  Chicago,  taken  down, 
transported  to  Knoxville,  and  put  in  place. 

BREAKING  GROUND  FOR  THE  CHAPEL 

AFTER  the  Diplomas  were  given  on  Graduates'  Day  ( 1881 ),. 
Bishop  McLaren  arose  and  said  that  the  most  important  busi- 
ness of  the  day  was  yet  to  come,  and  promised  that,  if  not  on  the  pro- 
gramme now,  it  should  be  before  they  adjourned.  Then,  in  an  eloquent 
speech,  he  stated  the  need  of  a  Chapel,  and  pictured  it  as  a  feature, 
nay,  as  the  center,  of  the  school  life.  He  then  announced  that  already 
that  morning  one  subscription  had  been  made,  and  for  one  thousand 
dollars!  by  Mrs.  Bradford  of  Cleveland.  This  announcement  was 
received  with  an  enthusiasm  which  was  not  diminished  when  he  added 
that  the  Rector  of  St.  Mary's  School  had  followed  with  an  equal 
sum.  And  now  the  Bishop  reminded  the  audience  that  he  had  prom- 
ised that  this  part  of  the  exercises  should  be  on  the  programme;  they 
might  therefore  take  their  programmes  and  put  upon  them  their  sub- 
scriptions. The  result  of  the  Bishop's  appeal  warranted  the  further  an- 
nouncement, that  the  ground  for  the  Chapel  would  be  broken  that 
same  afternoon! 

174 


^3 
o 
u 

U 


u 


CO 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

At  three  o'clock,  the  guests  and  the  family  were  summoned  to 
the  library,  where  Bishop  McLaren  again  took  the  floor.  He  stated 
that  the  first  object  of  the  meeting  was  to  gain  the  cooperation  of  the 
school  in  the  work  of  raising  money  for  the  Chapel.  He  called  upon 
the  pupils  to  pledge  what  they  would  do  themselves,  or  attempt  to 
secure  from  others,  subject  always  to  the  condition  that  parents  or 
guardians  were  willing,  and  that  no  unworthy  or  undignified  means 
were  used  to  induce  people  to  subscribe;  what  was  wanted  was  free- 
will offerings  for  the  holy  work.  The  Bishop  then  told  that  the  Chapel 
fund  had  not  been  begun,  as  he  had  supposed,  that  morning,  but 
months  before,  by  a  faithful,  loving  daughter  of  St.  Mary's,  and  a 
grandchild  of  Bishop  Kemper,  the  Bishop  whose  original  missionary 
jurisdiction  of  the  Northwest  extended  over  this  very  territory.  She 
had  thus  devoted  the  first  fruits  of  her  earnings,  in  faith  that  a  Chapel 
would  be  built;  though  at  that  time  the  subject  had  not  been  agitated 
at  all. 

ALONG  procession  issued  from  the  east  door,  headed  by  the 
bishops,  and  preceded  by  the  band,  while  some  zealous  priests 
bore  upon  their  shoulders  the  spades  that  were  to  play  so  important 
a  part  in  the  ceremony.  The  site  proposed  being  reached,  prayer  was 
offered  for  Divine  blessing  on  the  work  of  building  "an  house  to  the 
Lord."  Then  the  first  spadeful  of  earth  was  upturned  by  the  Rector ; 
and  we  doubt  if  in  all  his  busy  life  he  ever  did  a  stroke  of  work  with 
a  gladder  heart.  May  he  long  be  spared  to  see  the  work  of  the  Lord 
prospering  where,  amid  many  discouragements,  he  had  laid  so  well 
the  foundations;  and  in  the  Chapel  for  which  he  has  waited  so  long, 
may  many  a  soul  be  fed  from  his  hands  with  the  Bread  of  Life. 

There  were  many  thankful  hearts  among  the  company  that  stood 
that  lovely  afternoon  on  the  spot  where  the  long-desired  Chapel  was 
to  be  built,  and  tears  of  joy  were  shed  on  the  day  that  made  secure 
for  St.  Mary's  an  Altar,  a  place  wherein  should  be  enshrined  and 
conserved  the  most  holy  associations  of  the  life  of  the  School.  May 
God  bless  His  work;  to  His  Name  be  the  praise!  May  He  bless  the 
founders  and  benefactors  of  St.  Mary's  School  and  Chapel  for  Jesus 
Christ's  sake!  Amen. 


175 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
APPEAL  BY  THE  BISHOPS 

WE,  the  Bishops  of  the  Province  of  Illinois,  assembled  at  St. 
Mary's  School,  desire  to  record  our  conviction  and  earnest 
desire  in  regard  to  this  Institution  of  the  Province,  in  the  hope  of 
calling  forth  a  speedy  and  generous  response.  Our  conviction  is  that 
for  the  Christian  education  of  girls  a  suitable  Chapel  should  be  pro- 
vided, with  all  arrangements  that  conduce  to  the  dignity  of  wor- 
ship, and  our  desire  is  that  the  Chapel  now  commenced  at  St.  Mary's 
shall  be  completed  with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  We  commend  the 
effort  of  the  faithful  and  zealous  Rector  in  gathering  a  fund  for  this 
purpose,  and  ask  for  liberal  contributions  from  all  whom  this  letter 
may  reach. 

St.  Mary's  School  is  in  admirable  condition;  it  has  done  and  is 
doing  a  blessed  work  not  only  for  the  Church  but  for  society,  and 
deserves  the  confidence  and  generous  support  of  all.  To  finish  the 
Chapel  the  sum  of  $10,000  will  be  needed.  We  make  this  united  ap- 
peal all  the  more  earnestly  and  confidently,  from  the  fact  that  the 
School  is  now  a  recognized  Institution  of  the  Province,  with  funds 
assured  for  current  expenses,  extensive  improvements,  and  payment 
of  all  indebtedness. 

(Signed)  William  E.  McLaren, 

January  9,  1882  Alexander  Burgess, 

George  F.  Seymour. 

LAYING  OF  THE  CORNER-STONE 

ONE  of  the  happiest  days  in  the  history  of  St.  Mary's  School  was 
that  which  witnessed  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Chapel.  "Do  you  think  we  are  to  have  a  clear  day  tomorrow?"  was 
asked  many  times.  And  a  clear  day  the  morrow  was,  as  lovely  an 
October  day  as  one  could  wish.  From  the  top  of  the  house  waved 
the  American  flag,  in  token  that  this  was  one  of  the  high  days  of  the 
School,  and  from  the  derrick  which  was  to  lift  the  stone  into  place 
floated  another  starry  banner. 

At  3  o'clock  the  procession  formed  in  the  east  hall,  the  choristers 
singing  the  Trinity  Hymn.  In  the  procession  were  the  bishops,  the 
other  clergy,  lay  visitors,  and  the  members  of  the  School.  The  class 
banners  fluttering  in  the  breeze  added  to  the  picturesqueness  of  the 
scene,  as  the  company  grouped  about  the  platform.  Thereon  were  the 
three  Bishops  of  the  Province,  the  Rector  and  the  Chaplain  of  the 

176 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

School,  Rev.  Dr.  Courtney,  of  St.  James',  and  Rev.  R.  A.  Holland, 
of  Trinity,  Chicago,  Rev.  Mr.  Benson,  of  Peoria,  Rev.  Mr.  Moore, 
of  Robins'  Nest,  Rev.  Mr.  Shrimpton,  of  Galesburg,  Rev.  Mr. 
Allen,  of  Princeton;  and  of  the  laity,  Mr.  Candee,  of  Cairo,  Mr. 
Phillips,  of  Galesburg,  and  Mr.  Stahl,  of  Galena. 

Bishop  McLaren  read  the  lesson  and  the  collects.  The  Bishop  of 
Springfield,  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Seymour,  delivered  the  address. 

After  the  address  the  Rector  announced  the  contents  of  the  box 
that  was  to  be  put  in  the  stone:  The  Living  Church  (October  8th), 
the  Palladium  (October),  Register  of  St.  Mary's  School  (1881-82), 
Knox  County  Republican  (October  5th),  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
Decennial  Record  of  St.  Mary's  School,  Official  Statement  of  the 
laying  of  the  stone,  a  copy  of  the  hymn  written  when  the  corner-stone 
of  the  tower  was  laid  in  '72,  and  sung  again  at  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  of  the  Chapel.  The  following  is  the  official  statement: 

AD  MAJOREM  DEI  GLORIAM 

et 

in  honorem  Beatae  Mariae  Virginis, 

Reverendissimus  et  Illustrissumus  Dominus, 

Dominus  Alexander  Burgess,  S.  T.  D., 

Episcopus  Quinciensis, 

Praesesque  Provinciae  Illinosiensis, 

coram 

RR.  et  111.  Dominis, 

Domino  Gulielmo  Edouardo  McLaren,  S.  T.  D., 

Episcopo   Illinosiensi, 

et  Domino  Georgio  Seymour,  S.  T.  D., 

Episcopo  Springfieldiensi, 

necnon 

numeris  clero  populoque 

hanc  petram  posuit. 

III.  Non.  Octob.  MDCCCLXXXI. 

Praeside  Statuum  Fed:  Chester  A.  Arthur. 

Gubernatore  Stat.  Illinois:  Shelby  Cullom. 

Rectore  aedis  S'tae  Mariae:  Carolo  W.  Leffingwell,  D.D. 

ALEXANDER  QUINCIENSIS. 

GULIELMUS    E.    ILLINOISIENSIS. 

GEORGIUS  SPRINGFIELDENSIS. 

The  inscription  on  the  stone  is: 

D.  O.  M. 

Sub  Titulo  Beatae  Mariae  Virginis, 
A.  D.,  1881. 

177 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

The  placing  of  the  stone  was  watched  with  intense  interest,  as 
slowly  the  box  disappeared  from  view.  Bishop  Burgess,  as  the  pre- 
siding officer  of  the  Province,  then  performed  the  official  act  in  the 
name  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  The  Magnificat  which  followed  seemed 
especially  appropriate. 

THE  stone  was  laid,  and  visitors  and  members  of  the  school 
came  forward  to  cover  it  with  silver  pieces.  The  sum  thus  con- 
tributed amounted  to  $213.45.  The  tiniest  of  the  contribu- 
tors was  "Baby  Hortense,"  the  small  daughter  of  the  Rector, 
and  herself  no  taller  than  the  stone  upon  which  she  laid  her  offering. 
The  stone  was  quite  covered  with  silver.  Then  was  sung  the  Corner- 
Stone  Hymn,  which  was  written  eight  years  ago  when  the  corner- 
stone of  the  central  part,  the  "tower"  of  the  Hall,  was  laid.  The 
Benediction  followed;  and  to  the  strains  of  the  beautiful  hymn, 
"Lead  us,  Heavenly  Father,  lead  us,"  the  procession  returned  to  the 
Hall. 

We  cannot  better  close  this  account  of  a  day  to  be  forever  blessed 
in  the  annals  of  St.  Mary's  School,  than  by  quoting  from  the  ap- 
propriate lesson  read  at  Evensong: 

"And  they  sang  together  by  course  in  praising  and  giving  thanks 
to  the  Lord,  because  He  is  good,  for  his  mercy  endureth  forever 
toward  Israel.  And  all  the  people  shouted  with  a  great  shout,  when 
they  praised  the  Lord,  because  the  foundation  of  the  House  was  laid." 

HYMN 

For  the  Laying  of  the  Corner-Stone 
By  Miss  Hitchcock 

IN  Thy  Name,  blest  Three  in  One, 
Be  this  work  in  faith  begun; 
While  we  thankfully  adore, 
We  Thy  mighty  aid  implore; 
Resting  all  our  hopes  alone 
Upon  Thee,  the  Living  Stone. 

Be  the  Rock  of  our  defense, 
Banish  every  evil  hence; 
May  foundations  sure  be  made 
On  the  stone  in  Zion  laid ; 
Deign  our  humble  work  to  own, 
Tried  and  precious  Corner-Stone! 

178 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Seeking  treasures  for  the  mind, 
Here  may  all  true  Wisdom  find, 
And  the  Pearl  of  Price  untold, 
Better  far  than  finest  gold; 
Teachers,  scholars,  build  alone 
Upon  Christ,  the  Corner-Stone. 

Thou,  the  Heavenly  Architect, 
Fashion  them,  as  "stones  elect," 
For  the  temple  of  Thy  grace, 
For  the  Spirit's  dwelling  place; 
Them,  at  last,  rejoicing  bring 
To  the  palace  of  the  King. 

In  Thy  name,  blest  Three  in  One, 
Be  this  work  continued,  done; 
And  those  holy  strains  of  praise 
Which  the  Church  delights  to  raise, 
Still  ascend  unto  Thy  throne, 
When  we  bring  the  topmost  stone! 


BISHOP  SEYMOUR'S  ADDRESS 

Right  Reverend  Brethren  and  Brethren  of  the  Clergy  and 
Laity: 

IT  is  a  great  joy  to  be  here  on  this  bright  and  beautiful  autumnal 
day,  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  St.  Mary's  Chapel.  This  is  the 
corner-stone  of  corner-stones;  it  underlies  all  other,  and  all  others 
must  rest  upon  it,  if  the  structures  which  they  support  are  to  last  and 
accomplish  the  purposes  for  which  they  are  erected. 

Christianity  is  summed  up  in  the  Incarnation  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ;  in  God  the  Son,  clothing  Himself  with  our 
nature  and  dwelling  among  us,  and  bringing  God  near  to  us,  so  that 
He  has  ears  to  hear  us,  lips  to  speak  to  us,  hands  to  embrace  us  and 
protect  us,  and  a  heart  to  love  us.  He  becomes  the  corner-stone  of 
life  in  all  its  issues,  of  the  home,  of  the  school,  of  the  State,  of  the 
Church.  Leave  Him  out,  and  however  fair  the  promise  at  the  out- 
set, and  however  well  for  a  time  the  sequel  seems  to  justify  that 
promise,  the  end  must  be  inevitable  ruin,  and  the  ruin  is  the  more 
terrible,  because  the  disaster  is  often  so  unexpected  and  so  complete. 
Leave  the  Incarnate  Lord  out  of  the  problem  of  life,  and  it  cannot  be 

179 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

successfully  worked  out;  be  the  mathematician  who  he  may,  failure 
will  be,  failure  must  be,  the  result. 

A  Christless  home  will  be  broken  ere  long.  A  Christless  school 
may  impart  the  best  instruction,  useful  and  ornamental,  in  every  de- 
partment of  human  knowledge ;  but,  after  all,  it  has  only  provided  for 
the  first  and  shortest  stage  of  its  pupil's  journey,  grant  him  or  her 
the  longest  life  you  please.  They  have  as  luggage  the  languages,  sci- 
ence, elegant  accomplishments,  which  will  serve  them  for  three  score 
years  and  ten,  or  perhaps  four  score  years ;  but  then,  when  they  stand 
old  and  alone,  poor  and  in  misery,  on  the  shore  of  the  great  ocean  of 
eternity,  what  have  they  to  supply  their  needs  as  they  go  down  into 
the  depths  to  be  seen  no  more?  A  Christless  State  may  rise  and  flour- 
ish and  reach  a  maximum  of  glory,  such  as  the  world  rarely  sees; 
but  in  the  end  it  perishes,  because  it  loses  its  own  soul,  and  the  es- 
sence of  life  dies  out  with  virtue,  and  truth,  and  principle. 

Rome,  to  outward  eye,  was  never  grander  than  when  Nero  dwelt 
in  the  Palace  of  the  Caesars,  and  St.  Peter  hung  on  his  cross  hard 
by  with  his  head  downwards ;  but  at  that  very  hour  Rome  was  really 
dead  to  all  that  makes  a  nation  noble  and  great,  and  in  her  baseness 
and  grossness  and  servility  was  getting  herself  ready  to  be  the  victim 
of  the  barbarian  in  a  future  not  far  removed. 

We  say  rightly  and  justly,  then,  that  we  are  here  to  lay  the  corner- 
stone of  corner-stones.  It  symbolizes  Christ  in  His  two-fold  nature 
as  the  Corner-stone  of  humanity,  the  Corner-stone  of  life,  body,  in- 
tellect, and  soul,  complete  only  in  Him. 

This  stone,  then,  tells  us  that  in  St.  Mary's  School,  Christ  is  to 
be  under  all,  that  beneath  her,  in  her  care  for  her  children,  in  their 
food  and  raiment,  in  their  studies,  in  their  affections  and  deepest  is- 
sues of  life,  are  the  everlasting  arms.  The  refectory,  the  gymnasium, 
the  school,  the  rooms  for  recreation  and  social  converse,  all  have  their 
place  and  their  appropriate  office  and  character;  but  all  rest  for  their 
real  usefulness  and  success,  in  the  composite  and  difficult  work  of 
education,  upon  this  Corner-stone. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  hitherto  Christian  nurture  has  been 
left  out  of  the  training  of  St.  Mary's  School,  and  that  now  for  the 
first  time  it  is  to  be  added  as  an  after-thought.  On  the  contrary,  from 
the  outset  it  has  been,  as  it  ought  to  be,  and  must  ever  be  in  a  Church 
School,  the  fundamental  thing,  the  great  element  of  education,  with- 
out which  all  else  imparted  would  be  in  the  end  of  little  worth.  By 
its  fruits  ye  shall  know  the  tree;  and  St.  Mary's  girls,  many  of  them 

1 80 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

women  now,  bear  witness  all  over  this  great  State,  and  in  many 
States,  to  the  faithfulness  with  which  the  Rector  and  his  associates 
have  cared  for  the  spiritual  instruction  of  their  pupils. 

This  day  marks  a  stage  of  progress  in  the  career  of  St.  Mary's 
School.  No  one  knows  better  than  the  speaker  the  trials,  the  difficulties, 
the  disappointments,  which  must  needs  accompany  the  founding  and 
successful  establishing  of  a  great  school,  since  his  experience  for  years 
lay  in  this  precise  path  of  duty;  hence,  he  can  venture  to  say  that  he 
uses  no  unreal  words  when  he  congratulates,  as  he  does,  the  Rector 
and  all  who  have  been  or  are  associated  with  him,  and  he  may 
specify  one  whose  many  years  of  excellent  service  bring  her  nearest 
to  the  Rector  in  labors  for  St.  Mary's;  he  congratulates  them,  he 
says,  upon  the  bright  present,  which  sums  up  a  long  past  of  love,  and 
duty,  and  work,  and  a  brighter  future  which  seems  to  be  dawning 
upon  them. 

It  is  a  happy  coincidence  that  we  come  here — my  Right  Reverend 
brethren,  and  myself  and  others —  from  the  Provincial  Council  of 
Illinois.  Yesterday  we  held  our  first  regular  annual  session,  and  by 
formal  resolution,  unanimously  passed,  we  recognized  and  consti- 
tuted St.  Mary's  School,  Knoxville,  an  institution,  or,  if  you  please, 
a  daughter  of  the  Province.  She  is  our  eldest  child,  and  we  are  justly 
proud  of  her,  and  we  mean  to  do — I  am  sure  I  speak  the  mind  of 
my  Right  Reverend  brethren— we  mean  to  do  all  we  can  for  her,  and 
we  feel  sure  that  she  in  turn  will  help  us,  that  her  pupils  will  be  the 
heart  and  soul  of  Church  life  where  they  dwell. 

The  structure  which  will  rise  here  on  this  corner-stone  will  be  a 
shelter  for  our  daughters  from  the  evil  world,  and  from  the  evil 
which  is  in  the  world  and  in  themselves.  It  will  be,  in  the  Presence 
which,  when  it  is  consecrated,  will  come  here  and  abide  here,  a 
Palace,  where  the  great  King,  through  our  Intercessor  and  Advocate, 
will  welcome  His  children,  and  hold  out  to  them  His  golden  sceptre, 
as  did  Ahasuerus  to  Esther,  and  grant  them  their  petitions.  It  will  be 
a  fountain  of  life,  where  He  who  gives  the  early  and  the  latter  rain 
and  who  fills  our  barns  with  plenty,  will  in  His  sacraments  and 
means  of  grace  fill  the  hungry  with  good  things.  It  will  be  a  Divine 
school,  where  the  pupils  will  learn  so  to  frame  and  fashion  their  lives 
that  they  will  be  like  the  life  of  the  Master. 

St.  Mary's  Chapel !  The  name  reminds  us  that  woman  is  nearest, 
in  fact  and  in  thought,  to  the  Incarnation.  Of  the  substance  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  our  Lord  took  His  human  nature ;  He  had  an  earthly 

181 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

mother.  She  was  with  Him  in  His  years  of  dependence,  in  His  in- 
fancy and  childhood.  Woman  was  nearest  to  Him  at  the  last;  she 
stood  beneath  the  Cross;  her  eyes  prevented  the  night  watches,  that 
she  might  be  earliest  at  the  tomb  with  her  ointments  and  sweet  spices. 
What  an  incentive  this,  for  the  pupils  of  St.  Mary's  School  to 
strive  to  be  near  their  Lord.  Let  Him  be  before  you  in  all  you  do, 
let  nothing  be  so  separated  from  Him  that  you  can  not  bring  it  to 
Him  in  your  prayers,  and  then  will  you  build  upon  this  Cor ner-S tone 
lives  that  will  endure  and  that  will  make  part  of  that  temple  which 
will  fill  the  New  Jerusalem  with  glory. 


BISHOP  McLAREN'S  ADDRESS 
On  Graduates*  Day,  1882 

A  YEAR  ago  was  a  red-letter  day  in  the  history  of  St.  Mary's. 
School.  The  event  of  that  day  revealed  to  us  that  the  will  of 
God  was  working  out  the  dearest  wish  of  many  hearts,  that  on  this 
classic  ground  an  Altar  shall  be  reared,  whereon  throughout  the 
long  coming  years  the  Holy  Mysteries  may  be  celebrated.  For  God 
put  it  into  the  hearts  of  many  who  were  present  to  give  liberally 
towards  this  object.  More  than  four  thousand  dollars  were  sub- 
scribed, of  which  over  three  thousand  have  been  paid  in,  and  the  rest 
will  be  forthcoming  when  needed.  Ground  was  broken,  you  re- 
member, that  very  day,  and  the  grand  project  will  go  forward  to 
completion.  The  total  sum  required  is  $10,000,  and  this  we  hope  in 
God  that  we  shall  secure. 

I  have  heard  the  objection  made,  that  this  is  too  much  money  to 
put  into  a  Chapel  for  this  School.  To  this  I  would  answer  that  it 
is  indeed  too  much,  one  dollar  would  be  too  much,  if  we  proposed  to 
furnish  only  a  secular  education  here.  To  educate  young  ladies  along 
the  lines  only  of  intellectual  development,  to  train  them  only  in  the 
arts  of  the  world,  does  not  require  any  of  the  appliances  of  worship 
or  the  means  by  which  hearts  are  lifted  up  toward  God  and  eternity. 
But  St.  Mary's  is  distinctly  and  avowedly  a  Christian  school.  Here 
the  name  most  in  honor  is  "the  Name  that  is  above  every  name." 
Here  the  truest  wisdom  is  recognized  to  be  the  wisdom  that  cometh 
down  from  above.  Here  the  principles  for  which  we  would  expend 
the  best  strength  of  our  lives,  and  for  which,  if  need  be,  we  would,  I 
trust,  be  willing  to  die,  are  those  principles  of  religion  which  rec- 

182 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

ognize  our  need  of  God  and  of  the  redeeming  power  of  His  dear 
Son. 

We  aim  to  give  the  dear  girls  who  come  to  this  classic  spot  a 
symmetrical  culture  into  which  the  spiritual  shall  as  distinctly  enter 
as  the  intellectual;  and  in  order  more  thoroughly  to  accomplish  our 
purpose  we  shall  have  a  Chapel  here  upon  the  ground.  Now,  as  the 
spiritual  is  not  only  more  important  than  the  intellectual,  as  men- 
tal cultivation  can  be  most  successfully  promoted  by  an  earnest  spiri- 
tual development,  and  as  the  instrumentalities  of  religion  are  de- 
signed to  express  in  an  outward  form  the  deep  devotion  of  human 
hearts  to  Him  whom  we  love  and  adore,  we  are  not  prepared  to  ad- 
mit that  we  could  expend  too  much  upon  our  Chapel.  Could  I  com- 
mand the  treasures  of  the  earth,  I  would  build  the  stately  walls  of 
pure  gold.  Could  I  lay  hand  on  the  flashing  gems  of  the  mine  and 
the  noblest  creations  of  art,  I  would  decorate  this  holy  place  all 
gloriously,  so  that  by  its  outward  splendors,  as  well  as  by  the  spiri- 
tual associations  of  the  spot,  it  would  draw  back  those  who  from 
year  to  year  go  out  into  active  life,  and  exert  a  sanctifying  influence 
upon  all  who  should  habitually  worship  at  its  beautiful  Altar. 

It  is  generally  known  that  provision  is  made  for  the  completion 
of  the  present  school  building  by  the  addition  of  a  wing  on  the  east, 
of  the  same  size  as  this  on  the  west.  And  what  a  magnificent  pile  it 
will  be  when  all  is  done !  Think  of  all  the  added  means  of  useful  and 
thorough  work!  Think,  too,  of  the  Chapel,  looking  eastward,  east- 
ward in  the  direction  from  which  all  the  great  movements  of  history 
have  sprung,  which  have  spread  the  blessings  of  civilization  over  the 
world,  eastward  where  the  Dayspring  from  on  high  burst  in  super- 
natural beauty,  and  where  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  arose  with  heal- 
ing in  His  wings. 

St.  Mary's  School  has  been  a  blessing  to  the  Church  in  Illinois 
and  to  the  whole  State.  Wherever  St.  Mary's  girls,  aye,  and  St. 
Mary's  women,  are  known,  they  are  recognized  as  having  been  thor- 
oughly trained  in  the  substantial  elements  of  a  fine  education,  as  well 
as  in  the  accomplishments  which  go  far  to  promote  purity  and  dignity 
of  character,  and  to  make  the  woman  the  lady.  We  want  to  keep  up 
this  grand  work  and  to  increase  it  by  many  degrees,  and  we  must  have 
this  Chapel  as  an  indispensable  means  to  this  end. 

This  school  is,  as  I  have  said,  a  blessing  to  the  State  at  large. 
How  much  more  then  is  it  a  local  benefit !  We  have  no  narrow  or  con- 
tracted plans  for  the  future;  we  contemplate  a  larger  institution  than 

183 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

many  imagine.  The  people  of  this  town  and  vicinity  may  well  feel  a 
pride  and  interest  in  the  welfare  of  a  school  which  has  made  Knox- 
ville  an  honored  name  in  educational  circles.  They  ought  fully  to 
realize  how  vastly  all  this  will  be  increased,  when  the  work  so  happily 
begun  last  year  shall  have  been  completed.  To  them  we  look  for 
substantial  aid  in  its  accomplishment.  It  is  not  our  purpose  today  to 
ask  for  subscriptions,  but  one  thing  is  to  be  done,  the  Chapel  must 
be  finished  within  the  next  twelve  months — finished  and  paid  for — 
so  that  when  next  we  meet  here  upon  Graduation  Day,  the  Bishops 
of  the  Province  shall  be  enabled  to  consecrate  it. 

I  commend  this  work,  dear  friends,  to  your  consideration.  Help 
us,  and  the  blessing  of  peace  will  be  yours,  and  you  shall  have  part 
hereafter,  in  the  songs  that  will  resound  in  the  beautiful  sanctuary,  in 
the  solemn  sacrifices  which  will  be  offered,  and  in  the  grateful  mem- 
ories of  the  multitude  of  our  country's  fair  daughters,  who  shall 
gather  here,  in  the  long  years  to  come,  to  gain  the  secrets  of  earthly 
and  celestial  knowledge. 

WORKING  FOR  THE  CHAPEL 

NO  one  staying  at  St.  Mary's  and  seeing  the  earnest  work  that 
is  going  on  every  day,  would  doubt  that  the  Chapel  is  soon 
to  be  a  reality. 

The  different  classes  have  formed  themselves  into  societies  to  work 
for  it,  each  having  a  special  part  of  the  building  to  work  for;  the 
"Wood  Carvers"  ('84)  taking  the  carved  oaken  door  leading  from 
the  cloister  into  the  Chapel;  the  "Stone  Cutters"  ('85)  the  stone 
cross  to  surmount  the  west  gable;  and  another  society,  which  in- 
cludes the  Senior  and  the  Senior  Middle  Classes,  the  stone  carving 
for  the  window  in  the  same  gable.  This  is  to  be  the  largest  window. 
We  had  hoped  that  some  society  would  undertake  the  new  organ 
which  Professor  Laux  says  we  must  have,  but  none  have  had  courage 
to  attempt  so  much  as  yet. 

The  old  girls,  too,  are  working  hard;  many  of  them  feeling  as 
much  interested  as  if  they  were  not  many  miles  away  from  St.  Mary's. 
One  class  has  engaged  to  make  a  surplice  for  Dr.  Leffingwell.  Tears 
and  rips  are  mended  by  the  members  of  '82  and  '83,  at  the  reasonable 
and  somewhat  indefinite  charge  of  five  cents  a  seam.  Embroidery  is 
done  by  St.  Mary's  Guild ;  and  now  '86  offers  to  wash  paint  brushes. 
Surely,  they  are  in  earnest,  or  they  would  not  undertake  such  tiresome 

184 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

business.  New  notices  have  appeared  this  week,  advertising  to  do 
"shampooing"  and  to  wash  hair  brushes ;  and  the  new  numbers  on  the 
new  clothes  boxes  in  the  North  Hall  have  just  been  painted  by  some 
youthful  artists,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Chapel  fund. 

There  is  enough  money  collected  and  promised  to  warrant  the 
getting  of  the  stone,  and  Dr.  Leffingwell  will  order  it  this  month. 
If  by  the  time  it  is  ready  to  be  put  up  there  is  not  money  enough 
to  go  on  with  the  work,  it  will  wait  till  there  is  enough,  for  not  one 
cent  of  debt  is  to  be  incurred.  We  have  great  hopes  that  building  will 
be  resumed  in  the  spring.  Our  readers  will  remember  that  the  founda- 
tion was  put  in  last  autumn. 

THE  beautiful  Indian  Summer  weather  is  being  turned  to  good 
account  by  the  workmen  on  the  Chapel  and  on  the  foundations 
of  the  cloister  and  the  east  wing.  A  favorite  stroll  after  dinner  is 
around  the  east  side  of  the  Hall  to  see  what  has  been  accomplished. 
Happy  are  they  who  arrive  in  time  to  see  one  of  the  great  stones  of  the 
cornice  raised  to  its  place. 

Piles  of  sand  and  of  stone  occupy  the  site  of  garden  beds.  But  in 
their  promise  of  future  beauty  and  usefulness,  they  are  appreciated 
even  more  than  the  fading  blossoms  whose  places  they  usurp.  Perhaps 
some  undergraduates  may  draw  the  lesson  that  they  are  gathering 
now  the  stones  that  must  build  up  the  fair  fabric  of  the  mind.  Some 
of  these  stones  are  now  unsightly,  and  are  crushing  many  a  fair 
flower  of  pleasure  which  we  would  fain  have  gathered.  But  courage! 
Patience  and  perseverance  will  lay  the  foundations  of  character  and 
of  mind.  Thus  reflecting,  much  that  now  seems  hard  may  be  accepted, 
not  only  may  be  cheerfully  endured,  but  is  to  be  enjoyed  in  the  spirit 
in  which  we  are  now  enjoying  the  despoiled  flowerbeds,  with  their 
promise  of  more  enduring  good.  — Y.  Y.  K. 

EVER  since  I  read  in  The  Palladium,  "The  Chapel  is  to  be,"  I 
decided  that  the  first  money  I  earned  should  assist  in  building 
it,  and  now,  here  is  my  mite.  My  offering  may  come  at  a  late  hour, 
still  I  trust  it  is  not  too  late.  My  heart  and  my  prayers  have  been 
with  you  since  the  Chapel  was  first  spoken  of,  and  I  am  glad,  even  in 
this  small  way,  to  help.  It  rejoices  me  very  much  to  hear  of  the  great 
prosperity  of  the  School,  and  to  know  that  the  building  is  soon  to  be 
enlarged.  I  do  get  so  "homesick"  for  St.  Mary's,  sometimes,  and  I 
find  there  is  no  time  that  I  so  long  to  be  with  you,  as  in  the  Lenten 

185 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Season.  I  consider  myself  so  much  a  part  of  St.  Mary's  as  to  fancy 
that  I  shared  in  the  honor  shown  to  the  School,  by  the  letter  from 
Queen  Victoria,  printed  in  the  last  Palladium.  — Alumna. 

THE  frescoing  in  the  chapel  is  completed  (1884)  and  is  very 
beautiful,  especially  the  ceiling  over  the  chancel,  which  is  of  a 
sky-blue  color  and  studded  with  golden  stars.  This  was  the  contribu- 
tion, or,  rather,  one  of  the  contributions,  of  Dr.  Leffingwell.  St. 
Elizabeth's  Guild  will  give  the  wainscoting,  and  St.  Agnes'  Guild, 
the  flooring.  The  triangular  windows  piercing  the  roof  are  of  stained 
glass,  the  gift  of  St.  Mary's  Guild ;  a  very  handsome  one  over  the  altar 
was  given  by  Margaret  Boyd,  of  '81.  None  of  the  other  permanent 
windows  are  in,  although  we  understand  several  are  promised,  and 
the  furniture  is  yet  wanting;  still  we  live  in  the  hope  of  holding  our 
daily  services  there  in  the  Spring  (1885),  as  the  various  guilds  are 
devoting  their  savings  and  earnings  to  the  completion  of  the  Chapel. 
Now  who  will  give  the  organ  ? 


SERVICES  AND  CONSECRATION 

THE  eve  of  St.  Barnabas'  Day  (1885)  was  rendered  memorable 
by  the  opening  of  the  Chapel  for  daily  service.  It  had  been  used 
before  that  time;  once  at  the  Commencement  in  Eighty-three,  and 
none  who  were  there  will  forget  Carrie  Elliot's  pretty  wedding,  when 
the  scaffolding  was  up,  decked  with  green  boughs  to  conceal  its  ugli- 
ness. But  now,  the  scaffolding  away,  the  tinted  walls  looked  warm  and 
bright ;  stained  glass  had  begun  to  blossom  into  beauty  in  the  windows ; 
and,  above  all,  "the  altar  unto  the  Lord"  was  at  last  in  its  place.  It 
was  a  goodly  sight,  when  from  the  house  and  from  the  green  lawn 
groups  moved  towards  the  Chapel,  as  the  golden  evening  brightened 
in  the  west,  and  vesper  lights  greeted  them  from  the  flower-decked 
Altar  as  they  entered.  "I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me,  we  will 
go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord,"  was  the  language  of  many  a  heart. 
Matins  and  Evensong  were  sung  regularly  in  the  Chapel  until  the 
close  of  the  school;  and  those  who  were  going  away  not  to  return 
were  especially  thankful  that,  for  one  week  at  least,  they  were  per- 
mitted to  have  a  part  in  the  long  desired  and  beautiful  church. 

On  the  morning  of  the  nth  of  June,  1888,  a  large  company 
assembled  to  attend  the  consecration.  Bishop  McLaren,  Rev.  Dr. 
Holland,  Rev.  F.  W.  Taylor,  and  Rev.  John  Wilkinson,  were  present. 

186 


St.  Mary's  Church  and  Cloisters 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

At  the  door,  the  Article  of  Donation  was  read  by  Mr.  H.  H.  Candee, 
one  of  the  Trustees,  after  which  the  clergy  proceeded  to  the  chancel. 
An  eloquent  sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  Holland  on  the  text,  "All 
generations  shall  call  me  blessed,"  in  which  he  spoke  in  the  most 
glowing  terms  of  the  influence  of  woman.  Dr.  Holland  is  a  powerful 
speaker,  and  we  felt  it  a  great  privilege  to  hear  him. 

The  Chapel  was  complete  in  all  its  furnishings,  and  out  of  debt.  It 
was  consecrated  under  the  name  of  St.  Mary's  Church. 


THE  BISHOP'S  BLESSING 

(From  the  Address  to  the  Graduates) 

AND  now,  beloved  daughters,  whom  we  shall  meet  here  no  more, 
a  farewell  blessing  upon  you,  and  upon  each  of  you.  Your 
teachers  will  miss  you  from  their  daily  work.  They  will  see  your 
faces  no  longer  at  the  daily  sacrifice  of  prayer  and  praise.  No  longer 
students  here,  sharing  their  sympathy  and  their  love,  you  go  out 
from  this  school  to  take  your  part  in  life,  to  work,  to  do,  to  suffer, 
possibly,  but  only  as  the  God  whose  name  is  love,  appoints  or  per- 
mits. You  may  be  sure  our  full  hearts  go  out  with  you  in  earnest 
prayer  to  Him  who  never  slumbers  nor  sleeps,  that  His  eye  and  His 
hand  may  be  over  you  for  good;  that,  bringing  you  safe  through 
every  danger,  He  may  give  you,  finally,  the  crown  of  life.  We  only 
crave  of  you  your  blessing  and  your  prayer  for  your  Alma  Mater, 
and  for  those  who  come  after  you,  to  share  the  blessings  and  the 
honor  which  she  now  bestows  on  you. 

"God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  bless,  pre- 
serve, and  keep  you.  The  Lord  mercifully  with  His  favor  look  upon 
you  and  fill  you  with  all  spiritual  benediction  and  grace,  that  you 
may  so  live  in  this  world,  that  in  the  world  to  come  you  may  have 
life  everlasting." 


187 


CHAPTER  XIV 

HE  supreme  tragedy  of  our  Early  Days  oc- 
curred about  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  of 
January  fourth,  1883,  the  day  of  the  reopen- 
ing after  the  holidays.  Only  about  a  third  of 
our  ninety  students,  with  officers  and  teachers,  had  re- 
turned. 

After  a  fatiguing  day  I  was  sleeping  soundly,  when 
suddenly  I  became  aware  that  the  building  was  on  fire. 
I  sprang  from  bed  and  began  to  put  on  my  outer  gar- 
ments. "What  is  the  matter?"  enquired  my  wife, 
aroused  by  my  hurried  movements.  "There  is  a  fire 
in  the  house.  Don't  you  smell  the  smoke?"  "No,"  she 
said,  "you  must  be  mistaken." 

Directing  her  to  take  blankets  and  escape  with  the 
children,  I  found  the  little  boys  in  the  nursery  across 
the  hall  nearly  smothered  in  smoke,  and  started  them 
down  the  stairs  dragging  their  blankets  after  them. 
The  teachers  were  quickly  called,  the  gong  bells  were 
rung  in  the  halls,  and  the  big  bell  in  the  tower,  and 
every  room  on  our  floor  was  visited.  For  the  third  floor, 
only  two  or  three  students  had  returned,  and  they  had 
permission  to  sleep  that  night  with  companions  on  the 
second  floor.  Enquiry  was  made  of  each  officer  and 
teacher,  if  every  girl  in  her  section  was  safe. 

All  had  proceeded  swiftly  and  quietly.  There  was 
no  panic,  no  effort  to  save  anything  except  warm  ap- 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

parel.  The  fire  burned  slowly,  at  first,  confined  between 
the  floors  and  ceilings,  where  the  hose  which  Dr.  Rudd 
and  the  foreman  were  handling  could  not  reach  it. 

Seeing  that  nothing  more  could  be  done  or  need  be 
done  to  save  life,  I  thought  to  save  some  books  and 
pictures  in  my  study.  I  was  getting  a  handful  of 
currency  from  the  cash  drawer  when  it  occurred  to  me 
that  possibly,  after  all,  some  one  might  be  in  danger 
on  the  third  floor.  With  a  few  bounds  I  was  at  the  head 
of  the  two  long  flights  of  stairs,  and  there,  sitting  on  a 
trunk,  was  a  young  girl,  crying.  She  had  gone  up. to 
her  room  and  dragged  her  trunk  to  the  stairway.  "Get 
out  of  this,  at  once!"  I  sternly  ordered.  uTake  hold  of 
the  banisters  and  slide  down!  The  smoke  was  so  bad 
we  could  scarcely  find  our  way. 

Then  the  door  of  the  elevator  burst  open,  and  a 
dense  cloud  of  smoke  burst  out.  Seeing  I  could  do  no 
more  and  must  think  of  saving  myself,  I  shouted,  "The 
last  call,  every  one  out!"  I  was  about  to  follow  the 
course  I  had  ordered  the  frightened  girl  to  take,  when 
I  heard  a  gasping,  smothered  cry,  not  far  away,  and 
plunging  through  the  smoke  I  soon  caught  hold  of  a 
white  clad  figure,  bewildered  and  almost  suffocated, 
staggering  towards  the  stairway.  It  was  Miss  Hitch- 
cock. Fearing  that  some  one  had  been  overlooked,  she 
had  been  exploring  the  vacant  halls  and  rooms  of  the 
third  floor.  How  we  got  down  to  the  second  floor,  I 
never  could  remember.  There  I  was  able  to  open  an 
outside  porch  door,  and  we  recovered  our  breath  for 
another  desperate  descent  and  a  dash  through  the  front 
door  into  the  snow!  Still  almost  breathless,  we  had  to 
laugh  as  I  helped  Miss  Hitchcock  to  put  on  my  warm 
cassock  which  I  had  thrown  out  of  the  window  with 
the  mailbox. 

189 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

People  from  town  had  begun  to  gather  on  the  side- 
walk, in  silence  watching  with  us  the  flames  break 
through  the  roof  and  mount  the  tower.  The  fire  com- 
pany, with  its  noisy  truck  of  ladders  and  tools,  came  by 
and  broke  the  spell.  The  firemen  dared  not  enter  the 
burning  building  to  save  anything;  so  I  set  them  to 
breaking  the  windows  outside,  to  make  sure  that  every 
one  had  been  aroused.  While  this  smashing  of  glass 
was  going  on,  our  attention  was  attracted  by  the  raising 
of  a  third  story  window;  two  girls  appeared,  leaning 
out  of  it,  calling  for  help,  smoke  pouring  out  over  their 
heads. 

After  all  our  precautions  and  efforts,  we  had  missed 
them!  Could  they  yet  be  saved?  The  ladders,  quick! 
"Jump !  and  we'll  catch  you,"  shouted  some  one  in  the 
excited  crowd.  "Shut  up,  you  fool!"  I  answered.  "For 
them  to  jump  is  certain  death."  Calling  to  the  im- 
perilled girls  I  assured  them  we  would  save  them  if 
they  could  hold  on  a  minute  or  two.  The  long  ladder 
was  already  in  place,  reaching  to  the  sill  of  the  window 
beneath  them  on  the  second  floor,  and  firemen  were 
mounting  with  a  shorter  ladder  which  they  hooked 
over  the  sill  of  the  third  story  window  above.  The 
crowd  cheered  as  the  rescue  seemed  assured. 

In  less  than  a  minute  the  catastrophe  came.  With- 
out waiting  for  the  firemen  to  go  up  to  steady  the 
ladder,  one  of  the  girls  was  on  it,  and  before  she  reached 
the  lower  end  the  other  sprang  out  with  such  force  as 
to  throw  the  hook  off  the  window  sill.  Her  companion 
who  had  reached  the  lower  end  fell  directly  to  the 
ground;  the  one  above,  who  had  just  begun  to  descend, 
was  thrown  out,  as  by  a  flying  leap,  and  fell  insensible 
almost  at  my  feet.  The  ladder  to  which  she  was  clinging 
was  not  at  first  disengaged  at  the  lower  end,  and  its 

190 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

slow  motion  as  the  top  swung  off  into  the  air,  perhaps 
retarded  her  fall. 

The  injured  students,  Miss  Hosford  and  Miss 
Gillette,  were  taken  to  Dr.  Rosenburg's,  near  by,  where 
physicians  were  in  immediate  attendance.  They  found 
conditions  very  serious,  and  advised  sending  for  parents 
at  once.  But  the  telegraph  operator  was  sick  in  bed! 
I  hurried  to  his  home,  got  the  key  to  the  office,  called 
Galesburg  on  the  wire,  and  managed  to  tick  out  the 
message  (I  knew  the  code  by  practice  in  my  own  office)  : 
"St.  Mary's  is  burning,  operator  ill,  send  man  at  once 
by  special  engine."  In  fifteen  minutes  he  arrived. 

In  the  excitement  and  anxiety  of  that  tragic  hour, 
none  of  us  had  felt  cold  or  fatigue,  though  some  were 
insufficiently  clad.  It  was  a  winter  night  and  the  ground 
was  covered  with  snow.  Kind  citizens  almost  contended 
for  the  privilege  of  giving  shelter  to  our  homeless  peo- 
ple and  supplying  their  needs.  The  little  boys  had  to 
lie  in  bed  the  next  morning  until  proper  clothes  could 
be  sent  from  the  store,  because  they  would  not  put  on  the 
girl's  garments  that  were  offered  them!  My  wife,  in 
robe  de  nuit  and  blankets,  with  baby  Gertrude  in  her 
arms,  was  taken  to  the  almshouse  by  Dr.  McClelland, 
physician  in  charge.  There  are  worse  places  to  go  on  a 
winter  night  (or  any  other  night,  in  fact)  than  the 
Knox  County  poor  house!  God  bless  the  dear  people 
of  Knoxville  whose  sympathy  and  shelter  we  shared, 
even  to  the  wearing  of  their  clothes ! 

"Praise  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  forget  not  all 
His  benefits. 

"Who  saveth  thy  life  from  destruction  and  crown- 
eth  thee  with  mercy  and  loving  kindness." 

How  did  it  happen  that  two  students  were  sleeping 
on  the  third  floor,  when  the  officers  in  charge  declared 

191 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

that  no  one  was  there?  The  only  one  who  had  a  room 
there  had  permission  to  stay  on  the  floor  below,  with  a 
companion  whose  room-mate  had  not  returned.  Later 
in  the  evening,  without  reporting  to  the  teacher,  they 
decided  to  go  to  the  room  above. 

WITH  great  reluctance  I  have  written  this  account 
of  the  fire  which  destroyed  the  noble  building  of 
our  Early  Days.  So  far  as  I  know,  the  story  of 
that  dreadful  night  has  never  before  been  told  in  detail, 
and  the  record  would  be  incomplete  without  it.  I  regret 
that  in  this  description  I  have  had  to  make  frequent 
mention  of  my  own  activities.  Could  I  have  done  more 
and  better,  is  a  question  that  has  haunted  me  all  these 
years. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  my  awakening  as  I  did  saved 
life,  that  of  our  own  children  first.  And  how  did  I 
happen  to  wake  at  the  critical  time?  And  how  did  I 
know  the  house  was  on  fire?  I  was  sleeping  soundly. 
Suddenly  I  was  wide-awake,  on  my  feet,  and  girding 
myself  for  action.  I  could  not  account  for  it  then,  and 
the  explanation  that  I  offer  now,  after  many  years  of 
consideration,  may  not  be  satisfactory  to  any  one  else. 
But  why  should  it  be  thought  incredible  that  an  angel 
spoke  to  my  subconscious  soul  in  that  moment  of 
supreme  peril,  when  the  lives  of  half  a  hundred  people 
depended  upon  the  warning?  All  Christian  people  pro- 
fess to  believe  in  the  ministry  of  angels.  In  our  Even- 
song, from  the  first,  we  had  always  prayed,  "May  Thy 
good  angels  guard  us."  Most  impressively  that  prayer 
was  answered,  when  I  was  wakened  by  an  angel  that 
winter  night. 

Another  recognition  of  the  ministry  of  angels  was 
given  later,  when  the  two  injured  students,  on  their  re- 

192 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

covery,  united  in  the  presentation  of  a  great  Bible  for 
the  Chapel,  with  this  inscription,  suggested  by  Bishop 
Burgess : 


Presented  to  St.  Mary's  Chapel 

by 

Kate  A.  Hosford  and  Georgiana  S.  Gillette 

In  memory  of  their  deliverance  from  the  fire, 

January  4th,  A.  D.  1883 
"He  shall  give  His  angels  charge  over  thee." 


ONE  incident  of  the  tragedy  of  that  awful  night 
should  have  more  than  passing  mention.  Grateful 
acknowledgment  is  due  to  the  fireman  who  was  pain- 
fully but  not  dangerously  injured,  Ewing  Keightley. 
With  Qrton  Arms  he  had  scaled  the  first  ladder,  rope  in 
hand  to  make  it  fast,  and  there,  on  the  precarious  foot- 
ing of  a  window  sill,  high  in  air,  they  raised  the  second 
ladder  to  the  window  above.  It  was  a  thrilling  exhibi- 
tion of  skill  and  courage.  The  name  of  "Ewing"  may 
have  passed  with  the  burning  of  the  old  University 
building  (our  west  wing),  but  Ewing  Keightley  in- 
scribed it  on  the  Roll  of  Honor  that  night. 

Long  before  daylight  the  walls  had  fallen,  the  crowd 
had  dispersed,  and  our  company  of  homeless  teachers 
and  students  had  been  distributed  among  friends  in 
town.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Rosenburg  were  almost  crowded 
out  of  their  home  by  refugees.  Bishop  Burgess  came  by 
the  first  train  from  Quincy,  and  rendered  timely  aid, 
especially  to  students  arriving  and  departing,  for  some 
were  on  the  way  before  they  heard  of  the  fire. 

The  origin  of  the  fire  was  doubtless  a  defect  in  the 
chimney  with  which  the  only  stove  in  the  house  was 
connected.  The  soot  had  sifted  through  a  crack  between 


193 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

the  basement  ceiling  and  the  floor  above,  and  had  be- 
come ignited  when  the  chimney  burned  out  the  day 
before.  It  was  smoldering  there  for  hours,  and  would 
have  been  discovered  and  easily  extinguished,  but  for 
the  ventilating  construction  between  the  joists,  which 
kept  the  smoke  and  fire  moving  to  a  central  ventilating 
shaft.  When  the  fire  broke  out  it  was  too  much  spread 
to  be  controlled. 

The  hour  before  that  morning's  dawn  was  the  dark- 
est hour  of  my  life ;  not  so  much  for  what  I  had  suffered 
and  lost,  as  for  the  distress  which  had  come  upon  so 
many  related  to  me,  and  for  the  disaster  which  had 
overtaken  my  life  work.  These  lines  from  my  report 
in  the  Living  Church  indicate  my  profound  depression 
at  that  time:  "To  the  rebuilding  of  St.  Mary's  I  am 
ready  to  do  anything  in  my  power.  I  shall  stand  by  it  if 
life  and  health  are  given  me,  but  if  it  must  go  down, 
I  fear  I  must  go  down  with  it.  God's  will  be  done." 

THE  night  of  gloom  was  followed  by  the  sunshine 
of  sympathy — twice  blessed  sympathy,  "that 
blesseth  him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes."  Messages 
and  letters  came  to  us,  "like  the  gentle  rain  from  heav- 
en;" showers  of  love  and  comfort  and  hope.  They  were 
all  answered  without  aid  of  typewriter,  by  Miss  Hitch- 
cock and  other  members  of  the  faculty,  while  I  was 
struggling  to  prepare  a  shelter  for  the  loyal  students  who 
were  eager  to  return.  From  hundreds  of  consoling  mes- 
sages, all  prized  and  precious,  I  select  these  for  publi- 
cation : 

From  Bishop  Tuttle: 

(See  engraved  facsimile  letter  opposite) 


194 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 
<fyrf)  ktt^  yfrt*  fifi*X.  ythL*  otaZ^tf 

^^t    ^^  ^  55^ 


195 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
From  Bishop  McLaren: 

Chicago,  Jan.  6,  1883.  It  distresses  me  to  hear  that  you  are  laid  up 
with  a  sprained  ankle.  Poor  fellow !  I  wish  I  could  bear  some  of  your 
burdens  for  you.  My  wife  has  put  the  latch  string  in  Mrs.  Leffing- 
well's  hand,  and  we  want  her  to  pull  it.  Mrs.  N.  K.  Fairbanks  was 
here  today,  and  wants  to  do  something  to  show  her  sympathy. 

Again,  Bishop  McLaren  wrote  to  the  Living  Church: 

I  do  not  think  there  has  ever  been  presented  to  the  Churchmen 
of  Illinois  a  cause  so  worthy  of  their  sympathetic  interest  and  pecun- 
iary assistance.  It  was  a  noble  School,  indeed;  it  was  doing  a  work 
for  the  Church,  the  value  of  which  cannot  be  overstated;  it  was 
blooming  out  into  larger  proportions,  and  into  the  prospect  of  in- 
creased usefulness.  In  one  lurid  hour,  St.  Mary's  disappeared! 

From  Bishop  Burgess: 

Quincy,  Jan.  4,  1883  (Bishop  Burgess,  instead  of  writing  a  letter, 
on  the  morning  of  the  fire  came  by  the  first  train,  and  remained 
several  days,  giving  helpful  service.) 

From  Bishop  Seymour: 

Cairo,  111.,  Jan.  5,  1883.  I  seize  the  earliest  moment  to  express  to 
you  my  heartfelt  sympathy  in  this  calamity.  Of  course  you  lift  up 
your  head,  and  cry,  "Forward,"  but  you  need  encouragement  at 
such  a  crisis,  and  I  beg  to  say  that  whatever  the  Bishops  and  Trustees 
resolve  to  do,  I  am  ready  to  go  to  the  utmost  limit  of  my  ability. 
God  help  and  comfort  you.  I  know  what  it  is  to  stand  and  see  a 
building,  the  pride  of  one's  heart,  burn  down. 

From  Bishop  Whipple: 

Faribault,  Jan.  9,  1883.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  deeply  I  sympa- 
thize with  you  in  this  great  sorrow.  None  but  those  who  bear  heavy 
burdens  know  how  many  prayers  and  hopes  and  fears  and  heartaches 
it  costs  to  build  up  such  a  work.  None  know  what  a  burden  of  grief 
comes  with  its  destruction.  I  have  passed  through  so  many  such 
scenes,  I  can  and  do  feel  for  you.  Dark  as  it  may  be,  out  of  it  there  will 
come  a  blessing  we  cannot  see.  Our  Father  leads  us  by  a  way  we 
know  not.  It  is  often  a  rough  way;  the  feet  will  bleed  and  the  heart 

196 


.       EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

will  ache.  We  reach  out  and  cannot  grasp  His  hand.  He  is  there, 
the  same  Father  in  the  cloud  as  in  the  sunshine.  If  it  is  His  way,  it  is 
the  best  way  home.  We  never  succeed  as  we  planned.  We  always 
succeed  as  He  wills.  You  too  will  succeed  in  His  way. 

From  Bishop  Robertson: 

St.  Louis,  Jan.  n,  1883.  Oh,  the  pity  of  it!  Of  course  the  School 
cannot  go  down.  But  don't  be  cast  down.  I  am  sorry  for  the  painful 
sprain.  Many  are  watching  you  and  thinking  of  you,  and  praying  that 
you  may  not  be  discouraged. 

From  Bishop  Perry: 

Davenport,  Iowa,  Jan.  11,  1883.  In  the  midst  of  visitations  and 
pressing  duties,  I  can  not  but  find  a  moment  to  assure  you  of  the 
sympathy  and  sorrow  we  all  feel  in  view  of  the  destruction  of  St. 
Mary's,  and  our  earnest  hope  that  your  School  may  arise  from  the 
ashes  with  undiminished  excellence  and  even  greater  capacities  for 
usefulness. 

From  Bishop  J.  H.  Hobart  Brown: 

Fond  du  Lac.  I  hope  that  the  School  will  rise  brighter  and  strong- 
er for  the  fiery  trial  through  which  it  has  passed.  I  wish  that  episcopal 
treasuries  could  yield  something  more  helpful  than  good  wishes  and 
words. 

From  Bishop  Vail: 

Topeka,  Jan.  12,  1883.  It  is  a  great  public  loss,  and  for  the 
Church's  sake,  very  grievous.  I  fully  understand  your  own  personal 
affliction,  to  see  the  labor  of  so  many  years  prostrated  so  suddenly; 
for,  engaged  in  the  same  toils,  I  know  the  sense  of  labor  lost  and  life 
expended,  and  the  prostrating  disappointment.  But  try  to  keep  up. 
This  very  trial  may  be  the  occasion  which  will  give  you  success  even 
greater  than  that  you  have  ever  before  anticipated.  Wait  and  trust, 
while  you  strive. 

From  Bishop  Doane: 

Albany,  Jan.  27,  1883.  We  have  had  you  much  in  mind  and  heart 
since  the  news  came  of  the  great  loss  which  has  fallen  upon  you; 

197 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

while  we  have  thanked  God  for  the  great  mercy  which  spared  you 
any  loss  of  life ;  and  honored  the  courage  and  capableness  which  under 
God  prevented  it.  We  realize  the  great  anxiety  and  the  grave  hind- 
rance to  work  which  must  have  ensued,  and  we  feel  very  strongly 
with  you  in  all  the  trials  and  difficulties  in  your  situation.  The  ladies 
and  children  of  St.  Agnes'  School,  Albany,  have  asked  me  to  enclose 
the  amount  of  their  small  offering,  which  you  will  take  rather  as 
measuring  their  ability  in  the  presence  of  other  demands,  than  as  the 
measure  of  their  interest  and  sympathies. 

From  Racine  College,  Wisconsin: 

Jan.  20,  1883.  Dr.  William  J.  Gold,  Secretary,  writes:  At  a 
meeting  of  the  Faculty  of  Racine  College,  the  Secretary  was  directed 
to  convey  to  you  an  expression  of  profound  sympathy  with  yourself 
and  your  associates  in  the  recent  severe  loss  you  have  sustained  by 
the  burning  of  St.  Mary's  School.  As  common  workers  in  the  field  of 
Christian  Education,  we  venture  to  express  the  confident  hope  that 
the  injury  thus  inflicted  upon  your  most  important  work  may  be 
but  temporary,  and  that  St.  Mary's  may  rise  from  her  ashes  to  a 
career  of  even  greater  usefulness  and  success  in  the  cause  of  sound 
Christian  training,  than  in  times  past. 

From  the  Cathedral  Chapter,  Quincy: 

Jan.  8,  1883.  We,  the  Cathedral  Chapter,  in  common  with  all 
Church  people  in  the  Diocese,  feel  deeply  the  disaster  God  has  per- 
mitted in  the  burning  of  the  house  of  our  Provincial  School  for  Girls. 
We  see  the  merciful  hand  of  our  Lord  the  Preserver  in  the  rescue  of 
its  inmates.  We  sympathize  with  all  who  suffer  from  this  calamity, 
and  especially  with  the  noble  Rector  of  the  School,  by  whose  labor 
and  skill,  yea,  rather,  by  whose  heart  and  spirit,  under  the  favor  of 
our  Lord,  it  has  attained  such  excellence  and  success. 

From  Lombard  University: 

Galesburg,  Jan.  4,  1883.  Lombard  sends  her  deepest  sympathy,  and 
requests  you  to  call  on  her  faculty  for  any  service  within  her  power. 

From  Dr.  Cole,  President  of  Nashotah  House: 

Let  me  assure  you  that  I  mourn  with  you.  May  the  good  Lord 
open  a  way  for  you  through  the  darkness. 

198 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

From  the  Rev.  Canon  Knowles,  Chicago  : 

I  could  not  keep  the  tears  out  of  my  eyes  when  I  read  the  account 
of  your  dreadful  experience.  How  frightful  to  see  one's  heart  con- 
sumed that  way.  But  good  must  come  from  all  this,  and  I  hope  you 
will  yet  realize  the  ideal  St.  Mary's,  which  a  new  building  will  enable 
you  to  accomplish. 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Everhart,  Montgomery,  Ala.: 

The  loss  must  be  terrible.  The  interruption  of  your  work  is  really 
distressing.  May  the  good  Lord  comfort  and  guide  you  in  this  hour 
of  your  trial. 

From  Mrs.  Margaret  W.  Elliott,  Pittsburgh  : 

If  I  did  not  know  how  brave  and  trustful  you  are,  I  should  almost 
despair  for  you.  I  am  anxious  lest  the  shock  and  excitement  may  tell 
upon  your  health. 

From  Albert  E.  Neely,  Chicago  : 

My  house  is  open  to  yourself  and  family,  or  to  some  of  the  pupils. 
Would  suggest  that  you  lease  suitable  temporary  quarters  in  Chicago, 
unless  you  know  of  a  better  location,  and  re-open  at  once. 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  F.  W.  Taylor,  Danville,  III.  : 

Verily  it  is  a  sore  grief  to  see  the  loving  labor  of  so  many  years 
swept  away  in  an  hour.  St.  Mary's  must  be  rebuilt.  God  bless  you,  and 
make  the  present  calamity  to  be  a  blessing  in  disguise. 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  B.  Corbyn,  Quincy: 

I  am  too  sad,  sad,  sad,  to  write  a  word.  Your  sorrow  is  our 
sorrow.  Prayers  were  offered  at  the  Celebration,  this  morning,  for 
St.  Mary's  and  all  its  sufferers.  Do  not  despair,  my  brave,  heroic 
brother!  St.  Mary's  will  be  rebuilt.  You  will  yet  sing  Gloria  in 
Excelsis  Deo  over  the  ashes  of  the  past. 

From  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Moore,  Decatur,  Illinois  : 

The  clergy  in  Illinois  know  what  a  good  work  the  School  has  done 
for  the  Church,  and  each  one  can  feel  the  blow  as  affecting  his  own 
work.  You  know  you  have  my  deep  sympathy  in  your  own  sore  trial. 

199 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Corbett,  Battle  Creek,  Mich: 

As  my  parish  was  the  first  that  contributed  towards  the  inception 
of  St.  Mary's  School,  so  now  in  the  midst  of  its  charred  desolation, 
I  would  fain  be  first  in  extending  sympathy  for  the  great  loss  which 
must  almost  overwhelm  you.  I  congratulate  you  that  no  lives  were 
sacrificed. 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Joshua  Kimber,  New  York: 

It  is  very  hard  to  see  the  fruits  of  so  many  years  of  faithful  and 
most  useful  labor  apparently  consumed  in  the  flames,  and  I  beg  to 
assure  you  of  my  hearty  wish  that  I  could  restore  to  you  your  inter- 
rupted prosperity.  I  can,  however,  assure  you  of  my  hope  and  belief, 
which  all  your  friends  will  share,  that  through  your  indomitable 
energy  and  with  God's  blessing,  a  new  and  even  better  St.  Mary's 
School  will  replace  the  old  one. 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Russell,  Waterbury,  Conn.  : 

I  hope  that  though  you  are  cast  down,  you  are  not  destroyed, 
that  you  will  find  friends  to  help  you,  and  that  the  future  of  St. 
Mary's  will  be  better  through  the  present  trial  by  fire.  Whatever 
comes  of  it,  you  must  be  grateful  for  what  you  have  done  in  the  past. 

From  the  Rev.  Wm.  B.  Morrow,  Philadelphia: 

You  met  the  terrifying  circumstances  with  clear  head  and  firmness, 
like  a  man.  I  am  sure  you  keep  up  a  stout  heart  and  look  forward 
with  calmness  and  trust.  The  Lord  has  wonderfully  blessed  you  and 
prospered  your  work  hitherto. 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jewell,  Evanston,  Illinois: 

May  it  please  Almighty  God  to  make  this  calamity  the  means 
of  opening  the  hearts  and  hands  of  His  people  so  that  the  glory  of 
the  latter  house  shall  be  greater  than  the  former. 

From  the  Rev.  George  C.  Street,  Chicago: 

Aside  from  all  other  considerations,  your  personal  loss  is  so 
tremendous  that,  if  it  were  any  one  else,  I  should  be  almost  in  despair. 
But  you  are  gifted  with  such  indomitable  energy,  that  I  can  see  light 
through  the  darkness. 

200 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
From  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  Ellis  Stevens,  New  York: 

The  School  will  be  re-established  and  you  will  see  it.  You  need 
not  fear.  The  long  years  of  labor  have  not  been  in  vain.  The  disaster 
has  a  blessing  behind  it,  you  may  be  sure  of  that.  It  is  the  hour  for 
faith,  and  firm  trust  in  the  Father. 

From  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Waddle,  Pastor,  Knoxville  : 

It  makes  my  heart  sad  to  see  the  ruins  of  that  beautiful  building. 
I  know  you  feel  like  letting  the  building  go  without  a  word,  if  the 
lives  of  those  injured  scholars  are  only  saved.  This  occurrence  must 
have  fallen  upon  you  like  a  terrible  stroke.  One  thinks  it  would  be 
almost  impossible  to  stand  up  under  it. 

From  Mrs.  D.  M.  Smith,  Princeton,  Illinois: 

Please  accept  the  enclosed  to  aid  in  the  rebuilding  of  St.  Mary's 
School.  May  God  sustain  you  in  your  noble  work,  is  the  earnest  prayer 
of  a  woman  who  has  no  daughters,  but  wants  the  School  rebuilt, 
with  you  at  its  head,  for  the  great  blessing  it  will  confer  on  the 
mothers  who  have  daughters. 

From  R.  F.  Newcomb,  Quincy: 

My  hearty  sympathy.  Put  me  down  for  One  Thousand  Dollars 
towards  rebuilding  St.  Mary's. 

From  S.  Corning  Judd,  Esq.,  Chicago  : 

We  all  regret  exceedingly  that  in  addition  to  all  other  troubles 
you  have  had  the  pain  and  annoyance  of  a  sprained  ankle.  Notwith- 
standing our  great  sorrow  because  of  your  terrible  misfortune,  we 
have  extracted  from  the  calamity  a  grain  of  amusement  in  contem- 
plating the  fact  that  you  had  to  go  to  the  Poorhouse. 

From  Mr.  Lowber  Burrows,  Decatur,  Illinois: 

What  can  I  say  to  you  in  the  face  of  this  crushing  blow  to  your 
hopes  and  plans  for  which  you  have  striven  so  hard  and  manfully  ? 
My  deepest  sympathies  and  those  of  our  whole  family  go  out  to  you 
and  yours. 

201 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
From  H.  A.  Williamson,  Quincy: 

With  your  great  energy  and  good  judgment  the  School  will  soon 
be  prospering  again.  You  have  the  good-will  and  confidence  of 
everyone,  and  you  will  not  want  for  money  to  put  St.  Mary's  on  a 
good  foundation  again. 

From  Letters  from  the  Alumnae 

Warmest  sympathies.  Hope  all  are  well  and  none  injured. 

Are  you  all  safe?  Send  particulars.  Yours  in  deepest  sorrow. 

You  do  not  know  how  our  hearts  ache  when  we  think  of  the 
dear  home  destroyed,  and  of  the  sufferings  of  the  dear  man  who  has 
done  so  much  for  us. 

I  was  so  happy  the  three  years  I  was  there.  I  feel  as  if  my  home 
were  gone. 

I  have  heard  how  destitute  of  clothes  many  were  left,  and  have 
been  making  a  suit  for  little  Hortense. 

I  am  happy  to  send  you  a  check,  the  proceeds  of  a  musicale 
given  by  the  Quincy  girls. 

I  cannot  realize  that  the  school  we  loved  so  well,  the  building 
of  which  we  were  all  so  proud,  is  entirely  destroyed,  nor  can  I  shake 
off  the  feeling  of  depression  I  have  felt  ever  since  I  heard  of  the  fire. 

Your  letter  of  today  transformed  me  from  the  heart-broken  girl 
I  was,  when  I  read  that  our  invalids  are  improving,  and  the  school 
work  is  to  be  resumed  so  soon. 

I  know  we  are  far  away,  but  I  must  express  my  grateful  appre- 
ciation of  your  loving  kindness  to  me  while  St.  Mary's  was  my  school 
home. 

To  me  the  greatest  loss  was  the  library.  It  takes  so  long  to  gather 
such  a  fine  collection  of  books  and  pictures,  as  St.  Mary's  was  fortu- 
nate to  possess.  With  what  care  and  judgment  they  were  selected! 

The  loss  has  seemed  to  me  personal.  Indeed,  a  sad  misfortune  has 
come  upon  my  Alma  Mater,  never  dearer  to  me  than  now  when  she 
is  in  trouble. 

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EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

We  can  think  of  nothing  else.  The  very  thought  is  terrible  and 
heartrending,  but  what  can  have  been  the  reality  through  which 
you  have  passed! 

We  are  heart-broken.  Nothing  except  the  destruction  of  my  own 
home  could  make  me  feel  as  this  does. 

I  feel  almost  as  though  my  own  home  had  been  destroyed,  for 
St.  Mary's  was  a  second  home  to  me  for  four  such  happy  years. 

Enclosed  find  a  little  token  of  our  love  for  the  dear  School,  which 
we  hope  some  time  to  see  more  beautiful  than  before. 

It  is  with  heart-felt  grief  that  I  send  you  my  sympathy  in  the 
terrible  affliction  that  has  overtaken  our  dearly  loved  St.  Mary's. 

We  are  so  thankful  that  it  is  no  worse.  We  in  Chicago,  after  the 
great  fire,  can  truly  sympathize  with  you. 

My  heart  is  full  of  sympathy  for  you.  Your  work  has  been  so 
blessed  for  so  many  years.  It  must  be  that  the  School  will  rise  again 
from  its  ashes. 

I  hope  you  have  all  recovered  from  the  shock  and  exposure  and 
that  nothing  more  serious  may  develop. 

It  seemed  at  first  as  though  the  prayer  for  the  School  had  not  been 
heard ;  but  I  know  it  had  been  heard,  when  I  think  how  much  worse 
the  disaster  might  have  been. 

I  hope  and  believe  that  the  building  will  be  restored  in  fairer 
proportions,  and  that  the  school  will  be  again  the  center  of  high 
attainments  and  bountiful  blessing. 

The  burning  of  the  school  affects  me  like  the  loss  of  a  dear  friend, 
especially  when  I  think  of  the  treasures  which  no  money  can  replace. 

It  is  too  bad.  And  the  poor  girls  who  were  injured  and  others  who 
lost  everything!  But  the  dreadful  fire  in  Milwaukee  should  make 
us  think  how  much  we  have  to  be  thankful  for,  that  everyone  was 
saved. 


203 


CHAPTER  XV 

ARLY  in  the  morning  that  followed  the  great 
disaster,  I  visited  the  ruins.  The  scene  was 
desolate  and  depressing,  but  there  was  in  it 
a  ray  of  hope,  a  symbol  of  God's  love.  The 
beautiful  stone  Chapel,  that  had  not  been  touched  by 
fire,  stood  out  against  the  background  of  the  bright 
eastern  sky,  and  the  shadow  of  the  Cross  fell  upon  the 
snow-covered  lawn.  The  shadow  of  the  Cross!  symbol 
of  suffering  and  sacrifice !  But  lift  up  thine  eyes  to  the 
Cross  that  crowns  the  unscathed  edifice,  and  thou  shalt 
see  there  a  symbol  of  hope  and  victory!  The  shadow 
shall  pass,  but  the  white  stone  Cross  above  shall  grow 
more  radiant  as  the  day  advances.  To  my  mind  came 
the  vision  of  Constantine  and  the  inscription  of  his 
battle-flag,  In  hoc  signo  vinces. 

It  is  the  will  of  God,  I  said,  that  St.  Mary's  shall  be 
rebuilt! 

Meantime,  the  School  must  be  re-assembled.  The 
living  institution  is  of  more  importance  than  the  walls 
which  sheltered  it.  What  can  be  done?  There  is  no 
available  building  in  Knox  County  large  enough  to 
house  the  half  of  us. 

"Lead,  kindly  Light,   amid  the  encircling  gloom, 
Lead  Thou  me  on." 

And  the  kindly  Light  of  God's  Providence  did  lead 
us.  That  same  morning  came  a  note  from  the  President 

204 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

of  Ansgari  College,  Knoxville,  offering  us  the  tempo- 
rary use  of  his  college  building.  God  bless  thee,  Dr. 
Princell!  Thy  name  shall  lead  all  the  rest! 

PRESIDENT  PRINCELL'S  LETTER 

Ansgari  College,  Knoxville,  111.,  January  4th,  1883. 

Rev.  C.  W.  Leffingwell,  D.D. 

My  dear  Sir:  Deeply  touched  by  learning  of  the  sad  calamity 
that  happened  to  you  and  your  excellent  school  in  the  early  hours  of 
this  morning,  I  do  not  only  truly  sympathize  with  you,  "weeping  with 
those  that  weep,"  but  I  shall  be  inexpressibly  happy  if  I  can  do  any- 
thing towards  helping  you  in  any  way,  by  any  means  in  my  power.  If 
you  can  make  any  use,  temporarily,  of  our  building,  I  do  believe  it 
will  be  placed  at  your  disposal,  or  some  arrangement  can  be  made 
with  you,  by  the  proper  authorities.  As  soon  as  possible  I  hope  per- 
sonally to  call  on  and  see  you,  Doctor. 

Now  in  adversity  and  sadness  sympathizing,  but  always, 

Truly  yours, 

J.  G.  Princell. 

The  arrangement  was  promptly  made.  The  faculty 
and  students  of  Ansgari  College  (not  a  large  number) 
were  to  seek  boarding  places  in  town,  and  for  recitations 
and  lectures  the  city  gave  the  use  of  rooms  in  the  Court 
House.  Within  a  day  or  two  after  the  fire,  we  started  to 
build  an  Annex  to  the  College,  a  dormitory  one  hundred 
feet  long;  this  would  provide  alcoves  for  forty  students. 
With  repairs  of  the  main  building  it  was  finished,  and 
a  steam  heating  plant  was  installed,  in  less  than  four 
weeks,  during  zero  weather.  At  the  same  time  new 
furniture  was  provided  throughout. 

During  these  strenuous  days  I  was  reclining  on  my 
bed,  in  a  room  overlooking  the  work  of  the  new  dormi- 
tory. My  sprained  ankle  was  painful,  of  course,  and 
greatly  inflamed.  For  several  months  I  was  on  crutches. 

205 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

My  family  and  helpers  soon  followed  me  to  the  college 
and  we  were  quite  comfortable  and  cozy.  Taking  our 
meals  in  the  kitchen,  we  had  things  hot,  right  off  the 
stove!  Good  Bishop  Garrett  visited  us  while  we  were 
leading  the  simple  life,  and  he  seemed  to  enjoy  it.  His 
visit  cheered  and  encouraged  us.  His  strength  and  sym- 
pathy and  genial  personality  were  to  us  like  springs 
of  water  to  a  thirsty  land. 

ON  January  30,  1883,  within  the  month  of  the  fire, 
St.  Mary's  School  was  reopened  in  its  comfort- 
able quarters,  about  a  mile  from  its  former  home. 
Good  news,  from  day  to  day,  of  the  hopeful  progress 
and  assured  recovery  of  our  injured  girls  had  filled  all 
hearts  with  buoyant  gratitude,  and  we  assembled  with 
joyful  anticipation  of  the  renewal  of  our  school  life. 
We  had  about  sixty  students  in  residence.  These,  with 
the  Rector's  family,  the  teachers,  and  the  domestic 
helpers,  made  a  goodly  company.  It  was  a  happy  fam- 
ily; its  members  in  close  sympathy,  endeared  to  each 
other  by  the  perils  they  had  shared,  and  all  with  glad 
hearts  working  together  to  perpetuate  the  name  and 
fame  of  their  beloved  school.  "It  is  good  to  be  here," 
seemed  to  be  the  sentiment  of  all  hearts.  Surely,  no 
period  of  the  Early  Days  had  passed  more  pleasantly 
and  profitably  than  the  half  year  at  Ansgari  after  the 
fire. 


206 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
LIGHT  ON  THE  CLOUD 

THE  morning  of  the  fourth  of  January  saw  the  inmates  of  St. 
Mary's  destitute  of  everything  but  life  itself.  Nothing  but 
smoldering  piles  of  ashes  and  a  few  bare  walls  remained  of  that  noble 
building.  The  news  spread  to  every  part  of  the  land,  and  smote  with 
sadness  every  heart  that  had  once  called  St.  Mary's  home. 

But  as  quickly  as  the  news  spread,  just  as  quickly  came  loving 
responses.  Day  after  day  brought  letters  and  telegrams,  each  one 
lifting  somewhat  the  gloom  that  hung  over  all.  Following  the  letters 
came  boxes  of  warm  clothing  and  numerous  things  that  the  kind 
senders  knew  would  be  needed.  Especially  do  we  remember  the 
wonderful  box  sent  by  Mrs.  Fairbanks,  of  Chicago,  containing  almost 
every  necessary  article  that  one  could  name.  Strange  was  the  appear- 
ance of  everybody  in  these  new  clothes,  and  despite  the  sadness  that 
hung  over  us,  we  could  indulge  in  a  hearty  laugh  over  such  non- 
descript characters,  such  assorted  costumes!  Would  that  we  could 
present  to  our  readers  a  few  illustrations. 

For  several  days  no  one  dared  look  into  the  future.  We  lived 
in  dreadful  suspense,  for  the  lives  of  two  dear  girls  were  in  danger. 
Ah!  the  gladness  and  hope  that  were  infused  into  every  breast  at 
each  bit  of  encouraging  news  from  the  injured  ones!  Not  until  the 
hope  of  their  recovery  became  assured  did  the  countenance  of  any 
one  become  bright.  The  days  were  indeed  dark  and  dreary,  but  be- 
hind the  clouds  the  sun  still  shone,  and  when  the  news  came  of  the 
reopening  of  the  School,  ready  and  eager  was  every  one  to  be  up  and 
doing. 

Not  long  were  things  at  a  standstill.  "Ansgari"  was  offered  and 
accepted ;  in  three  weeks  the  "Annex"  was  finished,  the  two  buildings 
were  heated  and  furnished,  and  everything  was  in  readiness  for  the 
returning  pupils.  Under  their  artistic  hands,  the  bare  rooms  were 
converted  into  cosy  apartments,  the  halls  assumed  a  cheerful  appear- 
ance, and  happy,  eager  voices  were  heard  throughout  the  house. 

Thus  school  reopened.  Time  heals  all  things.  The  fire  is  still 
talked  of;  but  the  horror  of  it  has  worn  off.  Now  the  leading  topic 
is  the  new  building.  The  future  looks  bright,  indeed,  and  when  we 
hear  the  senior  middlers  talking  of  their  plans,  we  envy  them  and 
almost  wish  we  could  be  seniors  another  year.         — C.  H.  L.  '83. 


207 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

A  THRILLING  EXPERIENCE 

ABOUT  one  o'clock  we,  the  "Bee  Hive"  girls,  were  advised  by 
some  early  callers  to  awaken,  at  any  rate,  as  their  room  was 
filled  with  smoke,  and  they  feared  there  was  fire  in  the  house.  Just 
as  we  had  obeyed  this  summons,  Dr.  Leffingwell  came  to  the  door 
to  warn  us  hasten.  We  waited  only  to  give  a  few  garments  to  some 
who  had  been  driven  from  their  rooms  by  smoke,  without  time  to 
dress,  and  then  rushed  down  stairs.  The  halls  were  at  that  time  so 
filled  with  smoke  that  it  was  almost  stifling,  and  flames  were  breaking 
out  underneath  the  portico. 

In  front  of  the  building  we  found  the  teachers  and  pupils  watch- 
ing with  sorrowful  eyes  the  fire,  which  was  then  to  be  seen  in  the 
basement  and  reception  room.  In  a  moment  more  the  flames  burst 
through  the  roof,  and  we  knew  the  building  was  on  fire  from  basement 
to  garret.  Then  we  heard  cries  of,  "Oh,  it's  gone,  it's  gone !  No  hope 
of  saving  the  building!  Is  every  one  out?" 

By  this  time  we  were  on  the  walk  outside  the  grounds,  and  many 
of  the  town  people  were  about  the  building.  There  we  were,  standing 
out  in  the  bitter  cold  night,  most  of  us  not  comfortably  clothed, 
watching  our  dear  St.  Mary's  burn  to  the  ground. 

As  the  cries  of  "Are  all  out?"  reached  our  ears,  that  most  horrible 
doubt  took  possession  of  us.  We  tried  to  comfort  ourselves  by  looking 
at  the  number  about  us,  by  remembering  with  oh!  such  heartfelt 
thankfulness,  that  many  had  not  yet  returned  from  their  holidays. 
More  than  all,  we  seemed  to  trust  almost  implicitly  in  Dr.  Lefling- 
well's  presence  of  mind,  and  could  not  but  hope  for  the  best.  Yet  as 
we  tried  to  account  for  every  one  who  arrived,  and  would  sometimes 
think  of  one  whom  we  could  not  see,  our  very  souls  sickened  with  fear. 

It  seemed  impossible  to  leave  the  spot,  though  we  must  have  been 
very  cold.  We  watched  silently  and  with  aching  hearts  those  cruel 
flames  which  seemed  to  mock  human  efforts.  How  long  we  watched 
the  cross  on  the  belfry  tower,  as  it  stood  among  the  flames !  It  seemed 
to  defy  their  destructive  force.  At  last  it  fell.  And  then,  realizing  that 
we  were  no  longer  under  the  shadow  of  the  cross  of  our  beloved 
"Alma  Mater,"  we  listened  to  the  kind  friends  who  begged  us  not 
to  stay  longer  in  the  cold  air,  and  followed  them  to  their  homes  in 
town,  still  unwilling  to  believe  that  it  was  anything  more  than  a 
hideous  dream,  and  that  we  should  soon  awaken  to  find  ourselves 
again  in  our  old  rooms,  with  everything  just  as  it  had  been. 

We  were  providentially  spared  from  witnessing  the  heart-rending 

208 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

scene  from  the  window  of  Number  Fourteen,  and  indeed  knew  noth- 
ing of  it  until  some  time  later. 

Dr.  McClelland  rushed  from  house  to  house  calling  the  roll,  and 
not  being  satisfied  until  he  saw  and  recognized  every  face.  He  as- 
sured us  every  one  was  safe,  but  told  us  with  tears  in  his  eyes  of  the 
sufferings  of  the  injured.  We  dared  not  think  of  the  grief  of  our 
dear  Rector,  whose  life  work,  as  it  then  seemed  to  us,  was  destroyed. 
St.  Mary's,  for  which  had  been  his  hopes,  his  prayers,  gone;  and  the 
lives  of  two  of  its  pupils  in  danger. 

I  cannot  attempt  to  describe  the  scene  at  the  station  that  morning. 
As  good-byes  were  said,  grief  and  sympathy  too  profound  to  be  spoken 
in  words,  were  felt.  Hope  seemed  to  have  dawned  in  no  heart;  all 
felt  only  that  the  beloved  of  St.  Mary's  were  separating,  when  and 
how  to  meet  again,  no  one  knew.  Then,  we  were  not  cheered  by 
looking  "through  the  ruins"  and  seeing  the  Chapel  rising  pure  and 
beautiful,  and  promising  so  much.  Nor  could  we  then,  as  now,  see 
the  new  St.  Mary's,  more  lovely  than  fancy  had  pictured,  or  fond 
heart  had  hoped,  tried  indeed  by  fire.  — F.  L.  '83. 

HOW  A  SENIOR  GOT  HOME 

IT  was  noon  of  the  day  after  the  fire  when  she  arrived  at  the 
station,  which  was  twelve  miles  from  her  home.  There  being  no 
train  in  the  direction  before  12  P.  M.,  she  procured  a  conveyance 
from  the  livery  stable,  with  a  driver,  and  started  upon  her  journey. 
It  was  very  cold  and  snowing  hard.  Not  minding  the  storm,  they 
drove  on  at  a  great  speed.  When  they  had  gone  about  four  miles, 
the  driver  produced  a  bottle  and  insisted  upon  her  sharing  the  con- 
tents with  him.  Imagine  the  young  lady's  horror !  She  was  puzzled  to 
know  what  to  do,  as  a  drive  of  twelve  miles  with  a  drunken  driver 
was  far  from  being  an  agreeable  prospect. 

They  went  on  for  two  or  three  miles  more,  when  the  man  con- 
sidered it  time  for  another  interview  with  the  bottle.  But  during  this 
process  he  dropped  his  mitten.  She  then  politely  offered  to  hold  the 
reins  while  he  got  out  for  it.  Now  was  her  chance!  While  he  was 
out,  she  whipped  up  the  horses  and  drove  rapidly  home.  That  senior 
had  a  long  story  to  tell  when  she  reached  home,  which  she  did  without 
further  trouble.  There  they  had  not  even  heard  of  the  fire. 

— M.  B.  B.,  '$3. 


209 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

NO  sooner  had  post  and  steamer  done  their  duty  than  a  loving 
response  came  from  across  the  waters.  Hortense  Coulter,  as 
ever  among  the  first,  sends  a  welcome  five  hundred,  and  says: 

"On  our  return  to  Paris,  we  were  met  with  the  sad  news  that  St.  Mary's 
was  burned.  It  is  too  horrible  to  think  of.  I  loved  the  place  as  my  second 
home.  It  seems  as  if  I  could  remember  every  object  in  the  school.  How  can 
I  write  except  to  hope  that  the  new  building  will  be  begun  immediately. 
Would  it  not  be  nice  to  have  dear  old  St.  Mary's  reopened  and  the  chapel 
consecrated  at  the  same  time?" 

THE  REOPENING  AT  ANSGARI  COLLEGE 

From  The  Palladium 

THE  reopening  of  St.  Mary's  School  had  been  announced  the 
Sunday  before  in  the  little  parish  church,  and  at  half  past 
ten,  Wednesday  morning,  January  31st,  a  few  friends  from  the  town, 
with  teachers  and  students  assembled  for  the  morning  service.  Not- 
withstanding the  cheerfulness  we  were  determined  to  show  at  this 
first  meeting  as  a  School,  our  faces  would  lengthen,  try  as  we  might 
to  prevent  it.  The  walls  around  us  did  look  so  bare;  we  could  not 
help  remembering  our  big  organ  and  beautiful  Study  Hall.  Service 
began,  it  seemed  more  like  home;  and  with  the  entrance  of  the 
clergy  and  the  opening  sentences  sounding  in  our  ears,  we  could 
almost  imagine  ourselves  once  more  in  the  old  accustomed  place.  We 
expected  to  feel  all  our  regrets  vanish  when  Dr.  Leffingwell  talked 
to  us,  and  we  were  not  disappointed. 

THE  RECTOR'S  ADDRESS 
Dearly  Beloved  Teachers  and  Students: 

THANKS  be  to  God  and  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
that  I  am  permitted  to  greet  you  here  today.  St.  Mary's  School 
still  lives,  though  the  beautiful  house  that  sheltered  it  is  destroyed. 
Let  us  not  now  dwell  upon  the  desolation  and  ruin  that  the  fire  has 
wrought.  The  lurid  picture  will  live  long  in  the  memory  of  those 
who  witnessed  the  conflagration,  and  for  many  years  by  some  of  us, 
must  be  felt  the  irreparable  loss.  There  are  treasures  buried  and 
burned  in  those  ruins  that  time  and  money  cannot  replace. 

But  there  are  treasures  more  precious  remaining — treasures  the 
value  of  which  cannot  be  estimated  by  the  arithmetic  of  this  world. 

210 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

The  School  has  lost  its  outward  adornment,  its  material  provisions 
for  comfort  and  use,  but  its  life  is  spared.  Teachers  and  students  have 
lost  their  goodly  raiment,  precious  books  and  pictures,  cherished 
mementos  of  other  days;  but  they  have  life  and  strength,  the  active 
body  and  brain  with  which  all  that  was  best  in  the  old  treasure  house 
may,  by  God's  help,  be  restored.  The  life  is  more  than  meat,  the 
body  is  more  than  raiment. 

To  know  that  St.  Mary's  lives  in  the  hearts  and  hopes  of  thou- 
sands, far  and  near,  that  loving  friends  all  over  the  land  are  sympa- 
thizing with  us  and  reaching  out  their  hands  to  help  us,  is  greater 
blessing  than  to  possess  books  and  pictures,  beautiful  rooms  and 
majestic  buildings. 

Such  a  calamity  as  has  befallen  us,  beloved,  may  not  be  without 
present  recompense  and  future  gain.  It  is  not  an  unmitigated  mis- 
fortune to  be  thus  stripped  in  an  hour  of  all  that  we  prized  as 
earthly  goods,  and  left  to  stand  alone  before  God,  empty  handed. 
At  such  a  time  we  realize  that  a  man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the 
abundance  of  the  things  which  he  possesseth;  that  what  we  thought 
was  needful  and  precious,  was  after  all  but  a  mere  accessory  to  life, 
by  no  means  necessary  to  its  continuance  and  growth.  We  ought  to 
realize,  as  we  never  have  done  before,  the  instability  of  worldly 
things,  and  our  absolute  dependence  on  Him  who  changeth  not.  It 
surely  is  good  for  us  to  learn  that  there  is  no  strength  or  beauty 
of  earth  that  is  lasting,  that  the  fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away. 

Shall  we  not  also  count  as  present  gain  the  strengthening  of  love 
in  these  dark  days?  This  is  the  sweetest  use  of  adversity,  that  it  knits 
heart  to  heart  in  bonds  of  friendship  that  can  not  be  broken.  It 
is  the  touch  of  nature  that  makes  the  world  akin.  We  who  have  held 
pleasant  intercourse  when  skies  were  bright,  shall  draw  nearer  now 
and  clasp  hands  in  the  dark.  We  who  have  suffered  together  shall 
rejoice  in  each  others'  joy,  and  cheerfully  bear  one  another's  burdens. 
The  fire  that  has  swept  away  our  treasures  has  kindled  affections  that 
shall  never  be  quenched.  Ours  shall  be  a  lifelong  friendship,  tried 
as  by  fire.  We  shall  live  together  and  work  together  in  happy  har- 
mony, and  I  dare  to  hope  that  this  term  will  be  the  best  of  all  our 
school  life,  one  that  we  shall  cherish  among  our  blessed  memories. 

In  this  calamity  there  may  be,  there  should  be,  to  all  of  us,  a 
future  gain.  The  stimulus  to  exertion  which  we  must  feel,  will 
develop  strength ;  the  sacrifice  which  we  accept  with  resignation  will 
bring  us  nearer  to  the  Cross ;  mutual  helpfulness  to  which  sympathy 

211 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

impels  will  increase  charity.  Great  trials  borne  with  patience  exalt  the 
spirit.  The  looking  forward  to  possible  achievements  kindles  hope. 
The  failure  of  earthly  dependence  leads  to  a  trust  in  Divine  Provi- 
dence and  nourishes  faith.  And  what,  after  all,  should  we  count  so 
great  gain,  as  the  increase  of  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity  ? 

In  sight  of  the  smoking  ruins  of  St.  Mary's  once  beautiful  build- 
ing, it  is  almost  impossible  to  realize  that  gain  may  result  to  the 
school  from  this  appalling  loss.  Yet  so  it  may  be.  I  am  not  the  first 
to  entertain  this  hope.  It  has  been  expressed  in  many  kind  messages 
from  old  pupils  and  friends.  Loving  eyes  are  turned  hither  from  far 
distant  points  to  catch  the  first  glimpse  of  the  new  St.  Mary's  rising 
in  grace  and  dignity  from  the  ruins.  The  word  has  gone  forth  that 
by  God's  help  it  shall  be  rebuilt.  The  Church  and  the  country  expect 
it;  prayers  are  continually  offered  in  faith  that  the  work  may  go  on. 

And  if  St.  Mary's  shall  be  rebuilt,  why  may  it  not  be  better  than 
before?  True,  it  will  take  time  to  gather  again  so  many  objects  of 
beauty  and  interest.  But  affliction  has  multiplied  our  friends  and 
helpers,  and  experience  has  fitted  us  to  plan  and  build  better  than 
before.  Let  us  not  think  of  what  is  gone;  let  us  look  forward  to 
what  is  coming.  Let  us  thank  God  for  His  manifold  and  great  mercies, 
praying  for  the  complete  recovery  of  the  dear  ones  who  are  injured, 
and  for  the  upbuilding  of  a  great  work  to  the  glory  of  God  and  for 
the  benefit  of  His  Holy  Church. 

ONE  summer  day,  I  saw  Vesuvius  serene  and  tranquil  against 
the  blue  Italian  sky.  The  undulating  outline  of  the  mountain, 
the  delicate  tints  of  its  sloping  sides,  wreathes  of  smoke  gracefully  and 
gently  curling  upwards  and  mingling  with  the  clouds  presented  a 
beautiful  picture.  That  night,  amid  thunder  and  lightning  and  pour- 
ing rain,  half  choked  by  sulphurous  smoke,  I  climbed  to  the  crater. 
How  changed  the  scene!  Desolation,  and  the  blackness  of  darkness 
were  in  the  sky  above  and  in  the  chasm  below. 

The  morning  dawned,  and  there  on  that  lonely  peak,  while  the 
rain  was  hissing  as  it  fell  on  the  hot  lava  cliffs,  I  saw  a  picture  ex- 
ceeding in  beauty  and  glory  the  scene  of  yesterday:  the  Bay  of  Naples, 
extended  to  the  far  horizon,  bearing  on  its  tranquil  bosom  enchanted 
isles  and  white-winged  ships;  great  masses  of  clouds,  titanic  billows 
of  vapor  rolling  in  the  sky,  contrasting  with  the  peaceful  beauty  of 
the  scene  below.  Then  suddenly  the  west  was  overarched  by  a  rain- 
bow, in  form  and  brilliancy  exceeding  any  that  my  eyes  had  ever 

212 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

gazed  on.  Seen  from  a  point  high  above  the  horizon  line,  the  graceful 
curve  of  the  rainbow  seemed  almost  to  embrace  the  landscape  in  a 
many  colored  ring  of  glory.  It  was  a  moment  never  to  be  forgotten. 

Here,  not  many  days  since,  we  gazed  upon  a  picture  of  serene 
beauty,  upon  St.  Mary's,  our  lovely  school  home.  It  has  all  been 
swallowed  up  in  a  tempest  of  fire,  and  we  walk  in  darkness,  groping 
our  way,  towards  the  high  peak  where  we  may  look  down  upon  a 
fairer  scene.  We  wait  for  the  dawning,  cheered  by  the  hope  and 
prophecy  of  a  fairer  home  and  a  more  lasting  heritage. 

Yet,  if  this  should  be  denied  us  in  this  world,  we  know  that  there 
are  mansions  prepared  for  us  in  heaven.  When  we  have  done  with 
this  "fitful  fever  of  life,"  the  glory  that  we  sought  and  struggled  to 
realize  on  earth  shall  be  revealed.  There  shall  be  walls  of  precious 
stones  and  streets  of  gold,  a  sea  of  crystal,  and  a  rainbow  round  about 
the  Throne. 

May  God  grant  to  us  and  to  all  St.  Mary's  loved  ones,  an 
abundant  entrance  into  that  home  of  light  and  joy,  where  with  angels 
and  archangels  and  with  all  the  company  of  Heaven,  we  shall  laud 
and  magnify  His  glorious  name  forever. 


THE  INNOCENTS'  DAY 

TO  GOD  alone  all  years  of  life  belong; 
He  knoweth  when  to  give  and  take  away; 
For  His  high  purpose  weakness  is  made  strong, 
A  thousand  years  are  counted  as  a  day. 

All  life  and  death  His  providence  fulfil — 

The  days  of  childhood  and  the  years  of  man; 

No  life  so  short  that  does  not  do  His  will, 
No  death  so  early  as  to  fail  His  plan. 

The  Holy  Innocents  of  Bethlehem, 

And  all  sweet  children  that  have  ever  died, 

Are  safe  with  Him ;  no  harm  can  come  to  them, 
No  one  can  take  them  from  the  Saviour's  side. 

Though  absent,  still,  O  Rachel!  they  are  thine; 

Thine  earthly  loss,  in  Paradise  is  gain. 
Set  full  with  stars,  in  Heaven  their  crowns  shall  shine 

Their  little  lives  have  not  been  lived  in  vain. 

213 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Then  keep,  with  chastened  joy,  the  Children's  Day! 

O  mourner !  See  by  faith  the  happy  throng 
Around  the  Lamb,  there  evermore  to  stay, 

And  sing  before  the  Throne  the  blest  new  song. 

— C.  W.  L. 

ASH  WEDNESDAY,  AFTER  THE  FIRE 

From  the  Rector's  Address 

ASH  Wednesday!  To  us,  how  significant  at  this  time  is  the 
ancient  name  of  this  first  day  in  Lent!  Ashes  are,  indeed,  the 
impressive  symbol  of  the  perishableness  of  all  earthly  goods.  We  have 
been  made  to  realize  that  nothing  in  this  world  is  lasting.  All  that 
is  most  beautiful,  all  that  seems  most  substantial,  is  only  a  vapor 
that  a  storm  may  dissipate.  It  is  like  the  flower.  In  the  morning  it 
groweth  up,  and  in  the  evening  it  is  cut  down,  dried  up,  and  withered. 
A  wind  bloweth  upon  it  and  it  is  gone. 

The  day  is  named  from  the  old  custom  of  sprinkling  ashes  upon 
the  heads  of  penitents  as  a  token  of  abasement.  The  ashes  that  we 
sprinkle  today  should  be  gathered  from  the  charred  ruins  of  our 
vanished  treasures.  Looking  upon  that  handful  of  dust,  we  might 
realize  as  we  have  never  done  before,  the  vanity  of  worldly  things  and 
the  need  of  laying  up  treasures  that  can  not  be  destroyed.  What  an 
impressionable  spectacle  would  it  be,  if  we  could  gather  the  relics 
of  our  possessions  that  were  destroyed  by  fire,  and  place  them  before 
us  here !  The  choice  books,  the  pretty  pictures,  the  bright  dresses,  the 
brilliant  gems,  the  various  articles  for  use  and  ornament,  that  had 
such  a  large  place  in  our  thoughts  and  affections,  would  be  a  mass 
of  worthless  rubbish!  Let  us,  in  spirit,  offer  them  today  as  a  symbol 
of  our  humiliation,  and  bear  upon  our  heads  the  ashes  of  all  unworthy 
ambitions. 

For  the  solemn  fast  begun  today  we  have  had,  indeed,  a  solemn 
preparation.  Our  Epiphany  star  was  obscured  by  the  rising  smoke 
that  marked  the  site  of  our  desolated  hearthstone.  Yet  it  was,  or 
ought  to  have  been,  to  us  a  true  Epiphany.  Even  by  fire,  God  re- 
vealed Himself  to  us  in  love.  Let  us  not  forget  that  His  star  guided 
the  Gentiles  to  a  very  humble  abode,  even  to  a  manger  cradle.  Here 
in  this  humble  habitation  may  shine  upon  us,  more  brightly  perhaps 
than  in  our  former  home,  the  Light  that  leadeth  to  everlasting  life. 


214 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

THE  ladies  of  Knoxville,  wishing  to  do  something  for  St.  Mary's, 
kindly  prepared  a  supper,  which  they  gave  Tuesday,  February 
4th,  in  the  dining  hall  of  St.  Ansgari  College,  where  St.  Mary's 
is  now  sheltered. 

Though  a  stormy  evening,  a  large  number  from  the  town  were 
present,  but  the  weather  prevented  visitors  from  coming  over  from 
Galesburg.  The  supper  was  elegant.  The  neatly  laid  tables  were 
served  by  young  ladies  of  Knoxville,  most  of  whom  were  old  pupils  of 
St.  Mary's.  The  guests  were  favored  with  music  by  Misses  Reed, 
Atkins,  Phelps,  and  Pierce,  all  of  whom  played  unusually  well.  The 
proceeds  from  the  supper,  amounting  to  $92.00,  have  already  been 
used  in  purchasing  books;  and  a  goodly  number  of  volumes  in  the 
Library  bear  on  the  title  page  the  words:  "Presented  by  the  ladies  of 
Knoxville."  — G.  P.  K.  '83. 


215 


CHAPTER  XVI 

jT  AN  early  hour  on  Baccalaureate  Sunday, 
in  the  Study  Hall  at  St.  Ansgari  College 
(our  temporary  home),  the  Holy  Commu- 
nion was  celebrated,  the  Senior  Class  receiv- 
ing together.  After  dinner  there  were  still  no  signs  of 
kinder  skies,  and  the  whole  school  were  taken  to  the 
church,  in  carriages.  The  altar  was  vested  in  white,  and 
on  it  was  a  cross  of  pansies,  the  class  flower. 

The  Rector's  text  was  the  class  motto:  "Bear  ye  one 
another's  burdens" ;  and  as  he  touched  upon  the  events 
of  the  year  in  which  the  awful  fire  had  brought  so 
many  burdens  to  be  borne,  there  were  few  dry  eyes  in 
the  congregation. 

By  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  there  were  few  houses 
in  town,  it  would  seem,  that  had  not  as  many  guests  as 
they  could  accommodate,  and  quiet  Knoxville  began  to 
look  like  a  summer  resort  in  the  height  of  the  season. 
The  weather  on  Graduates'  Day  proved  to  be  all  that 
could  be  desired.  The  procession  formed  at  the  Opera 
House,  and  marched  to  the  Presbyterian  Church.  It 
was  a  pretty  sight,  as  the  white-robed  train  passed 
across  the  park  through  the  avenue  of  stately  trees.  At 
the  church  door  the  choristers  began  the  Trinity  hymn, 
and  the  School  entered.  The  graduating  class  was  pre- 
ceded by  their  standard  bearer,  the  youngest  girl  in 
school,  who  carried  the  beautiful  banner  which  the  class 
had  presented  to  the  School. 

216 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Bishop  Burgess  and  Bishop  Seymour  represented 
the  Province  of  Illinois,  and  the  Bishop  of  North 
Texas  was  the  Orator  of  the  Day. 

After  a  shortened  Service,  the  literary  exercises  be- 
gan. That  the  essays  were  of  more  than  average  worth, 
may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  the  audience  listened 
with  interest  to  the  whole  sixteen  of  them !  The  selection 
of  subjects  had  something  to  do  with  that  pleasant  re- 
sult. None  of  the  young  essayists  grappled  with  the 
"Correlation  of  Forces,"  nor  were  the  audience  asked 
to  listen  to  a  treatise  on  "Reason  and  Instinct."  The 
valedictorian's  theme,  "Woven  of  Many  Threads,"  was 
one  admirably  adapted  to  an  occasion  which,  from  the 
striking  events  of  the  school  year,  was  one  of  more  than 
ordinary  interest.  Especially  touching  was  the  reference 
to  the  two  schoolmates  who  had  been  injured  at  the  fire; 
to  the  thankfulness  with  which  their  recovery  had  been 
hailed,  and  to  the  crowning  joy  in  the  presence  of  one 
of  them  that  day;  joy  that  on  the  future  of  our  dear 
Alma  Mater,  there  rested  no  shadow  of  unavailing  woe. 

Bishop  Burgess  conferred  the  diplomas,  and  each 
one  of  the  class,  kneeling  in  turn  before  the  Rector,  re- 
ceived from  his  hands  the  Cross  of  Honor.  The  Bishop 
gave  an  impressive  address  to  the  class,  and  they  sang 
one  stanza  of  the  hymn,  "Sweet  Saviour  bless  us  ere  we 
go."  Then  kneeling  before  the  Bishop  they  received  his 
blessing. 

After  the  recessional,  the  school  and  the  clergy  re- 
turned to  the  Opera  House  where  the  class  received  the 
congratulations  of  their  friends. 

IN  the  afternoon  the  corner-stone  of  Knox  Hall,  St. 
Mary's  School,  was  laid.     The  band  which  had 
done  good  service  in  the  park  and  on  the  lawn  at 

217 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

"Ansgari,"  showed  themselves  unwearied,  as  their  in- 
spiring strains  called  the  people  together.  Bishop  Bur- 
gess read  the  service.  Bishop  Garrett  made  the  address, 
and  Bishop  Seymour  laid  the  stone,  using  the  following 
impressive  form: 

In  the  Name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy- 
Ghost.  Amen. 

We  lay  the  Corner-Stone  of  an  edifice  to  be  here  erected,  by  the 
name  of 

KNOX  HALL 

forming  a  part  of  a  series  of  buildings  to  be  known  as  St.  Mary's 
School,  Knoxville,  Illinois;  an  Institution  created  and  incorporated 
for  the  training  and  education  of  girls  and  young  ladies,  in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord,  under  the  care  and  protection  of  the 
One,  Holy,  Catholic,  and  Apostolic  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America  and  the  Province  of  Illinois. 

Other  Foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is 
Jesus  Christ,  God  over  all,  blessed  forevermore,  and  in  whom  we 
have  redemption  through  His  Blood,  even  the  forgiveness  of  sins. 
Amen. 

The  stone  was  laid  in  the  southwest  buttress  of  the 
east  wing,  on  a  line  with  the  water-table.  The  articles 
deposited  in  the  box  were :  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
Register  of  St.  Mary's  School  and  Commencement  Pro- 
gramme for  the  year,  the  Living  Church  for  January 
13,  Home  and  Foreign  Church  papers,  the  Living 
Church  Annual,  1883.  The  following  is  the  inscription: 

A.  M.  D.  G. 

ET  IN  PIA  MEMORIA 

JACOBI  KNOX 

XVIII.  Kal.  Julii. 

MDCCCLXXXIII 

The  climax,  the  thrilling  moment,  of  this  great  day 
was  at  the  close  of  the  grand  oration  which  Bishop 

218 


3 
o 

GO 

+-> 

s 

o 
i-l 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Garrett  pronounced.  Turning  to  the  American  flag  near 
by,  he  seized  the  staff,  and  planting  it  upon  the  stone, 
exclaimed:  "I  plant  this  banner  upon  the  foundation 
stone  of  a  school  to  be  built  here,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  American  Church,  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God. 
Wherever  floats  this  flag,  the  Christian  influence  of  St. 
Mary's  School  shall  extend."  As  he  spoke  these  words, 
the  flag  was  caught  by  the  breeze,  and  three  hearty 
cheers  rang  out  from  the  great  assembly. 

THE  NEW  BUILDING 

EVERY  one  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  the  old  building  of  St. 
Mary's  is  to  be  replaced  by  a  new  and  better  one.  It  is  hoped 
it  will  be  ready  for  the  reopening  of  school  next  autumn.  Mr.  F,  M. 
Ellis,  of  Marshalltown,  Iowa,  is  the  architect,  and  Messrs.  Treat 
&  Foltz,  of  Chicago,  are  consulting  architects. 

The  new  building  is  to  be  built  entirely  north  of  the  old  founda- 
tions, and  will  extend  further  east  than  the  old  building;  so  the 
cloister,  by  which  the  Chapel  is  approached,  will  run  north  and 
south,  instead  of  east  and  west,  as  it  was  planned  for  the  former 
building. 

The  new  St.  Mary's  will  consist  of  two  wings,  two  stories  high, 
running  north  and  south,  ioo  feet  each,  connected  by  a  three-story 
building  112  feet,  thus  forming  three  sides  of  a  quadrangle,  with  the 
Chapel  at  the  southeast  corner. 

The  prominent  features  will  be  Gothic,  not  with  a  mansard  roof 
as  was  the  old  building.  The  study  hall,  recitation  rooms,  music 
rooms,  and  studio  will  entirely  occupy  the  third  story  of  the  main 
building,  and  together  with  a  recreation  hall  will  utilize  the  attic 
of  the  wings.  There  will  be  no  sleeping  rooms  in  the  third  story. 
There  will  be  rooms  for  about  one  hundred  students,  with  rooms 
for  the  teachers  and  officers  connected  with  the  school. 

The  building  will  be  heated  by  steam,  and  will  be  provided  with 
the  best  apparatus  in  all  departments.  Several  large  bathrooms  will 
be  found  on  each  floor,  with  three  or  four  alcoves  each. 

The  quadrangle  will  be  a  fine  feature,  and  can  be  made  very 
ornamental.  The  study  hall  will  be  a  grand  room  with  open  timber 

219 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

ceiling.  There  will  be  three  stairways  leading  from  the  study  hall 
to  the  lower  floor. 

Let  us  hope  that  the  good  work  may  go  on,  with  God's  help,  and 
that  the  fondest  hopes  of  our  dear  Rector  and  of  others  interested  in 
St.  Mary's  future,  may  be  fully  realized.  — C.  A.  '83. 

THE  SLEIGH  RIDE 

ONE  evening,  at  the  tea-table,  just  before  the  snow  melted,  Mrs. 
Leffingwell  invited  the  family  to  a  sleighing  party.  We  were 
to  be  ready  at  about  seven  o'clock,  and  when  the  assembly  bell  rang 
we  should  find  conveyances  at  the  door.  Then  followed  such  a  clap- 
ping of  hands  as  made  the  walls  of  "Ansgari"  ring.  After  grace, 
tongues  were  loosed,  and  the  buzzing  and  the  chatter  and  the  joyous 
laughter  were  something  extraordinary. 

Promptly  at  seven  the  big  bell  rang  out  sharp  and  clear,  and 
soon  we  were  assembled  in  the  main  halls  and  divided  into  four 
parties,  each  under  the  supervision  of  a  teacher.  Four  big,  delightful 
"bobs"  with  large,  strong  horses,  stood  waiting  to  receive  us;  and 
after  a  little  delay  and  a  few  mishaps,  we  were  all  tucked  in  and 
ready  for  the  start. 

It  was  a  perfect  moonlight  night,  and  we  were  determined  to  en- 
joy ourselves  to  the  utmost,  as  we  all  felt  that  this  would  be  our  last 
sleigh-ride  of  the  winter;  for  even  then  a  few  bare  spots  of  dark 
earth  might  be  seen  peeping  up  through  the  snow. 

As  we  flew  over  the  smooth  white  road  towards  Galesburg,  we 
vented  our  spirits  in  snatches  of  verse  and  song.  When  our  voices 
gave  out,  we,  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  be  under  our  Chaplain's 
care,  were  regaled  with  some  of  his  famous  ghost  stories.  His  de- 
scriptions were  so  vividly  drawn  that  we  listened  with  bated  breath 
and  dilated  eyes. 

After  reaching  Galesburg,  we  stopped  in  front  of  Brown's  Hotel, 
and  notice  was  given,  "Fifteen  minutes  to  get  warm."  Those  fifteen 
minutes  flew  swiftly  by  in  the  pleasant  hotel  parlors ;  and  once  again 
we  were  stowed  away  in  the  "bobs,"  homeward  bound.  Although  our 
superfluous  spirits  and  our  gaiety  were  more  subdued,  we  enjoyed  our 
homeward  ride  not  a  whit  less  than  the  ride  over. 

When  the  lights  of  "Ansgari"  came  in  sight,  we  gave  as  a  grand 
finale  "Home  Again";  and  I  think  we  sang  it  with  a  great  deal  of 
feeling,  as  we  remembered  that  dear,  old  home  which  now  lay  in 
ashes  under  the  pale  moonlight. 

220 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Arrived  indoors,  another  surprise  awaited  us.  We  were  asked  to 
be  seated  in  the  schoolroom,  where  a  repast  of  coffee,  sandwiches,  and 
cake  was  served.  Ere  we  separated  for  the  night,  the  happy  faces  that 
surrounded  Mrs.  Leffingwell,  and  the  chorus  of  thanks  which  re- 
sounded from  every  side,  showed  what  a  truly  pleasant  evening  she 
had  made  for  us. 


EASTER  DAY 

ONCE  again  the  forty  days  of  Lent  have  come  and  gone;  once 
again  the  sweetly  solemn  strains  of  the  Miserere  have  been 
heard;  and  once  again  we  welcome  the  joyous  Eastertide  with  glad- 
dened hearts. 

No  sooner  had  the  impressive  gloom  of  Good  Friday  lifted, 
than  preparations  for  Easter  began.  The  last  Lenten  service  was 
held  on  Easter  Even  at  the  church,  after  which  several  of  the  girls 
remained  to  dress  it  for  the  glorious  feast  day.  Their  labors  were  well 
rewarded,  for  with  the  aid  of  plants,  flowers,  and  gleaming  lights, 
the  chancel  was  transformed.  The  most  beautiful  of  the  decorations 
was  a  large  cross  of  rare  flowers,  given  by  the  class  of  '83. 

Easter  morning  dawned,  and  alas!  not  bright  and  fair,  but  with 
a  steady,  silent  rain  which,  however,  failed  to  make  it  less  bright  and 
cheerful  indoors.  Instead  of  the  sound  of  the  rising  bell,  we  were 
'wakened  by  the  beautiful  carol,  "Lift  your  glad  voices  in  triumph 
on  high" ;  and  half  an  hour  after  found  us  on  our  way  to  the  church. 

At  breakfast  time  the  dining-room  presented  a  merry  scene. 
Each  table  was  ornamented  by  nests  filled  with  brilliant  hued  eggs; 
and  each  girl  found  at  her  plate  the  cards  which  had  been  sent 
to  her,  but  which  had  been  withheld  until  Easter  morning. 

The  night  before,  lights  were  left  burning  in  some  parts  of  the 
house  until  after  ten  o'clock,  and  there  were  many  conjectures  as 
to  what  this  might  mean;  but  at  breakfast  the  mystery  was  cleared 
away,  when  the  Seniors  appeared  in  dainty  Swiss  caps  that  were,  in- 
deed, a  marvel  of  ingenuity. 

The  rest  of  the  day  passed  like  all  Sundays  at  St.  Mary's  except 
that  there  seemed  to  be  a  deeper  peace  pervading  everything,  as  if 
even  the  air  reverberated  with  the  joyous  strain:  "The  Saviour  hath 
risen,  and  man  shall  not  die."  — J.  S.  B.  '83. 


221 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
TO  THE  RUINS 

ONE  of  our  interesting  occupations  is  a  visit  to  the  ruins ;  so  one 
evening  after  school  I  set  out  for  the  place  where  once  stood, 
but  now  lies,  our  old  St.  Mary's  building. 

I  tread  again  the  familiar  road,  and  cast  my  eyes  in  the  direction 
where  once  was  a  fair  and  stately  edifice,  but  now,  alas !  nothing  but 
ruined  walls  meet  my  gaze.  As  I  draw  nearer  I  see  a  vast  pile  of 
bricks,  from  which  little  curls  of  smoke  steal  out  in  several  places. 
These  bricks  are  surmounted  and  surrounded  by  workmen  and  girls. 
These  latter  have  come  on  the  same  errand  as  I  have;  and  with  sad 
hearts  we  look  on  all  that  remains  of  dear  old  St.  Mary's. 

Each  girl  is  armed  with  a  shovel,  in  lieu  of  the  pickaxe  of  the 
workmen;  and  though  with  perhaps  not  quite  as  much  strength  of 
body,  yet  with  quite  as  resolute  hearts,  they  set  bravely  to  work 
clearing  away  the  debris,  and  now  and  then  a  triumphant  cry  from 
one  tells  that  she  has  found  something.  The  rest  of  the  girls  at  once 
hasten  to  her  side  to  view  the  relic,  and  with  slight  feeling  of  envy 
go  back  to  their  own  labor  and  fall  to  work  with  renewed  vigor. 
What  raptures  they  go  into  over  a  bent  and  blackened  knife,  spoon, 
or  fork!  No  soldier  just  home  from  the  wars  was  ever  greeted  with 
more  expressions  of  delight,  than  is  some  vase  or  fancy  article,  which 
in  spite  of  fire,  has  somehow  preserved  both  its  shape  and  color. 
Each  one  hovers  near  the  spot  which  was  especially  dear  to  her. 

I  step  to  the  west  side,  and  see,  through  the  parts  of  the  ruined 
and  blackened  walls  yet  standing,  the  Chapel  glistening  in  its  white 
purity,  with  its  snowy  cross  pointing  heavenward;  and  as  I  look  at 
that  symbol  of  faith  and  hope,  I  can  almost  see  the  future  St.  Mary's 
which  is  soon  to  rise  out  of  the  ashes  of  the  old  one.  Many  were  the 
hopes  that  went  down  with  the  building  and  many  are  the  fond 
memories  that  cling  round  that  ruined  pile.  Although  to  some  of 
us,  St.  Mary's  as  a  school  home  is  gone  forever,  still  in  our  great  de- 
sire for  the  erection  of  the  new  building,  and  the  pride  we  take  in 
the  same,  much  of  the  sharpness  of  our  grief  is  worn  away. 

— N.  P.  '83 

THE  third  of  April,  1883,  was  as  bright  and  beautiful  as  I 
imagine  was  the  third  of  April,  1783,  when  Washington  Irv- 
ing, the  most  genial  and  charming  of  our  American  writers,  was  born. 
It  was  most  fitting  that  we  should  commemorate  this  important 
Centennial,  and  it  was  done  in  a  charming  manner.  A  fancy  dress 

222 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST,  MARTS 

party  representing  characters  of  Irving's  creation,  and  opened  by  a 
formal  reception  by  Irving  and  his  niece,  was  the  order  of  the  eve- 
ning's entertainment. 

The  schoolroom  was  decorated  for  the  occasion,  and  a  dais  raised 
on  the  rostrum,  where  the  host  and  hostess  were  to  do  the  honors  of 
the  evening.  At  the  ringing  of  the  bell,  when  all  the  spectators  were 
assembled,  far  off  in  the  distance  sounded  a  patriotic  march;  simul- 
taneously entered  at  one  door  the  procession  of  guests,  at  the  other, 
Irving,  gently  leading  his  lovely  niece  to  her  position  on  the  dais. 
While  the  music  outside  continued,  the  guests  marched  up  the  aisle, 
and  as  they  were  announced  in  a  most  stately  manner,  greeted  the 
host  and  hostess.  Two  essays  were  read;  one  by  Miss  Warren,  of 
'85,  the  other  by  Miss  Castle,  of  '84,  and  alternating  with  these 
were  patriotic  songs. 

A  dance  and  supper  in  the  dining-room  closed  the  evening;  and 
many  a  one  was  heard  to  say,  "Why,  we  could  not  have  had  a 
pleasanter  time  had  we  been  at  old  St.  Mary's." 

— C.  H.  L.  '83 

THE  May  Concert,  now  considered  the  best  of  all  good  times 
at  St.  Mary's,  was  given,  this  year,  in  the  Opera  House,  instead 
of  the  study  hall.  Reasons  for  such  a  change  I  think  I  may  safely  leave 
to  reflecting  readers. 

The  day  dawned,  oh!  wonderful,  wonderful!  Never  was  day 
fairer.  Such  an  unheard  of  circumstance,  that  of  having  a  sunny  day 
before  May  Concert,  caused  those  interested  in  the  entertainment 
to  spend  most  of  the  time  in  walking  about  in  the  sunshine,  in  order 
fully  to  appreciate  the  blessing. 

But,  ah,  woe !  Just  as  the  last  curl  had  been  put  in  place  and  the 
last  ribbon  was  tied,  every  dainty  muslin  properly  arranged,  and  the 
tout  ensemble  viewed  with  natural  satisfaction  (where's  the  harm?), 
just  then  was  heard  "the  patter  of  raindrops  on  the  roof."  But  ex- 
citement and  anticipation  kept  dampness  from  the  spirits  as  effectually 
as  the  "gossamers"  kept  it  from  the  immaculate  toilets,  so  circum- 
stances were  not  so  unpropitious  after  all. 

A  PLEASANT  episode  of  the  evening  before  Graduates'  Day  of 
'83  was  the  presentation  of  a  banner  to  St.  Mary's  School. 
After  the  conferring  of  diplomas  for  music  and  French,  the  banner 
was  brought  in  and  the  class  president,  Clara  Liscomb,  presented  it 
with  these  words: 

223 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Dr.  Leffingwell:  The  class  of  Eighty-three  desire  to  present  to  St. 
Mary's  School  this  banner  which  bears  their  motto.  They  beg  that  it  may  be 
accepted  as  their  memorial  in  the  dear  School,  in  whose  future  they  would 
fain  have  a  part. 

The  Rector  in  reply  thanked  the  class  on  behalf  of  the  School, 
spoke  of  the  deep  significance  of  the  motto,  "Bear  ye  one  another's 
burdens,"  and  promised  to  future  generations  their  beautiful  gift. 
It  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  here  that  the  banner  is  safely  laid 
away  in  the  fire-proof  vault  of  a  bank,  until  such  time  as  a  similar 
receptacle  is  ready  for  it  at  St.  Mary's. 

The  banner  is  a  very  beautiful  one,  is  of  rich  pansy-colored  silk, 
of  a  light,  almost  lavender  shade,  crossed  diagonally  with  a  broad 
strip  of  velvet  of  deep  pansy  purple,  on  which  is  embroidered  the 
class  motto,  and  the  monogram  of  Eighty-three,  and  above  which  are 
pansies  of  many  hues.  The  pansy,  it  should  be  mentioned,  is  the  class 
flower. 

With  rejoicings  over  the  beautiful  gift  were  mingled  regrets  for 
the  banners  of  preceding  classes,  which  had  perished  in  the  flames  of 
the  fire  of  January  4th.  We  cannot  but  hope  that  when  all  is  well 
again,  the  classes  will  restore  these  memorials. 


A  REMINISCENCE  OF  ANSGARI  ANNEX 

NO  loss  without  some  gain.  If  St.  Mary's  had  not  burned,  where 
would  have  been  the  Annex,  "that  fair  house  built  on  an- 
other man's  ground"?  Though  its  outward  appearance  does  not 
boast  of  beauty,  yet  it  is  certainly  fair,  being  built  of  unpainted  white 
pine.  The  architect  seems  to  have  drawn  his  plans  on  the  principle, 
"To  be  simple  is  to  be  great."  But  enough  for  that;  the  glory  of  the 
Annex  is  in  its  inward  adornment.  "A  box  where  sweets  compacted 
lie,"  it  has  been  aptly  termed. 

The  visitor,  approaching  the  Annex  from  the  main  building,  as 
he  enters,  sees  a  long  hall,  with  alcove  rooms  on  either  side.  In 
place  of  doors,  there  are  gay  little  portieres,  some  of  which  are  closed, 
others  drawn  aside.  Glancing  within  he  sees  a  little  boudoir,  curtains 
at  the  window,  made  of  some  soft,  pretty  material,  and  walls  which 
are  covered  with  a  profusion  of  pictures,  arranged  with  artistic  care- 
lessness. A  carpet  of  many  hues  covers  the  floor.  The  tables  are 
strewn  with  trinkets  and  bric-a-brac.  There,  too,  are  chairs,  whose 
appearance  tells  of  comfort  and  repose;  looking  glasses  draped  with 

224 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

that  same  soft  material  as  the  curtains ;  beds  which  are  made  for  long 
hours  of  sleep.  Leaving  these  "infinite  riches  in  a  little  room,"  we  pass 
on. 

It  is  early  in  the  morning.  A  soothing  quiet  broods  upon  the  air. 
The  far-off  tinkle  of  a  bell  is  heard. 

"Was  it  the  chime  of  a  fairy  bell 
That  came  so  sweet  to  my  dreaming  ear?" 

Alas!  not  so.  It  was  the  harsh  tones  of  the  rising  bell  calling  all 
to  shake  off  sleep,  and  awake  to  the  stern  realities  of  life.  The  scene 
has  changed;  what  a  few  minutes  ago  was  so  quiet,  is  now  all  life 
and  noise.  There  is  a  sound  of  many  voices,  as  the  good  mornings  are 
said. 

Perhaps  the  time  when  the  Annex  looks  its  best,  is  between  study 
hour  and  nine  o'clock,  when  the  silvery  lamps  spread  a  soft  light 
over  everything.  That  is  the  nightly  social  hour  of  the  Annex.  Those 
who  love  solitude  must  seek  it  elsewhere. 

We  notice  that  something  interesting  is  about  to  take  place.  The 
Annex  is  filled  with  girls,  and  we  see  at  one  end  a  great  pile  of 
stools.  As  we  stand  there  some  one  shouts:  "Close  doors!  the  per- 
formance is  about  to  begin";  "No  extra  charge  for  seats  on  top  of 
partitions!"  We  take  reserved  seats,  and  await  the  beginning  of  the 
entertainment.  Stools  are  placed  at  equal  distances  apart,  through 
the  whole  length  of  the  hail.  The  performers  now  make  their  ap- 
pearance; they  are  clad  in  startling  colored  costumes,  red  being  the 
favorite  shade.  The  rapidity  and  agility  which  they  display  is  amaz- 
ing; and  the  appreciative  audience  applauds  vigorously.  The  stools 
are  now  placed  in  groups  of  two,  three,  four,  and  five.  The  "crowning 
effort"  of  the  evening  was  a  clear,  high  jump  over  five  stools;  the 
excitement  reached  its  highest  pitch,  and  the  one  who  so  distinguished 
herself,  was  quite  overwhelmed  by  the  storms  of  applause. 

'Twas  a  bright  picture  that  the  Annex  presented.  Through  the 
long  hall  were  the  performers  in  their  gay  costumes,  and  all  along,  on 
each  side,  the  partitions  were  loaded  with  girls  of  every  size,  age,  and 
class  of  undergraduates;  yes,  even  the  seniors  were  there. 

In  the  midst  of  our  gaiety,  we  hear  the  warning  tones  of  the 
retiring  bell.  So  the  performance  comes  to  an  end,  and  also  our  fun, 
for  that  night ;  but  we  remember  how  pleasant  it  was,  and  shall  "call 
again."  — M.  A.  R.  and  M.  E.  C. 


225 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

THIS  year,  St.  Mary's  birthday  (the  fifteenth)  was  rather  a 
solemn  one.  She  had  met  with  a  great  misfortune  and  was 
still  under  its  shadow.  We  had  a  holiday,  with  Service  in  the  morning, 
and  a  long  quiet  afternoon.  No  birthday  cake  crowned  with  lighted 
tapers  marked  the  fifteen  years  of  the  school  life.  But  next  year  will 
be  a  grand  anniversary,  St.  Mary's  will  be  "sweet  sixteen."  Long  may 
she  live,  a  loving  Alma  Mater  to  all  succeeding  classes  that  leave  her 
as  sorrowfully  as  we  do. 

KATE  HOSFORD'S  presence  at  St.  Mary's  during  Commence- 
ment week  was  the  occasion  of  something  very  like  an  ovation. 
That  she  was  really  well,  after  the  horrible  fall,  seemed  too  wonder- 
ful to  believe,  until  we  had  seen  her.  And  now  Georgie  Gillette 
has  a  room  engaged  for  the  reopening  of  school,  and  we  hear  good 
and  hopeful  news  from  her.  Though  her  injuries  are  of  a  nature 
that  will  require  a  long  time  for  her  to  be  entirely  restored,  there 
seems  no  doubt  that  she  will  escape  lameness,  and  be  entirely  welL 

THE  ASCENSION 

LIFT  up  your  heads,  O  gates!  Be  lifted  high, 
iYe  everlasting  portals  of  the  sky! 
The  King  in  glorious  majesty  draws  nigh! 

He  comes  with  power,  who  lived  on  earth  unknown, 
Despised  by  men,  rejected  by  His  own: 
He  comes,  a  King,  victorious  to  His  throne! 

The  Lord  ascends !  His  work  on  earth  is  done  ; 
The  Lord  ascends!  His  reign  in  heaven  begun; 
His  people  ransomed,  and  His  Kingdom  won ! 

Sing,  O  ye  heavens!  Be  joyful,  all  ye  lands! 
O  all  ye  people,  shout !  Lift  up  your  hands ! 
High  over  all,  the  King  of  Glory  stands! 

O  earth  rejoice!  Ye  isles  thereof,  be  glad! 
O  suffering  world,  so  long  oppressed  and  sad, 
Behold  your  King,  in  strength  and  beauty  clad ! 

Behold  your  King !  Though  passed  from  human  sight, 
By  faith  behold  Him,  where  in  regal  might 
He  comes  a  conqueror,  to  His  Throne  of  Light ! 

Lift  up  your  heads,  O  gates !  Wide  open  swing, 

Ye  doors  of  heaven!  While  men  and  angels  sing 

A  loud  Hosanna  to  the  glorious  King!         q   ^y   t 

226 


CHAPTER  XVII 

mjJjHE  School  never  opened  with  brighter  pros- 
pects than  in  the  new  building,  on  Wednes- 
day, Oictober  24th,  1883.  A  larger  number  of 
pupils  than  ever  before  were  in  attendance. 
That  a  hundred  girls  should  have  waited  so  late  in  the 
season,  after  all  other  schools  had  begun,  was  a  fact 
complimentary  indeed  to  St.  Mary's. 

After  Matins,  Dr.  Leffingwell  addressed  the  school, 
drawing  attention  to  several  impressive  passages  from 
the  Psalter  for  the  day,  as  "The  Lord  hath  inclined 
His  ear  unto  me;"  "He  hath  heard  the  voice  of  my 
prayer;"  bringing  to  mind  again  the  sad  scene  of  that 
terrible  conflagration  which,  less  than  a  year  ago,  had 
consumed  our  school  building.  But  since  this  misfor- 
tune had  brought  us  such  a  beautiful  new  one,  we 
could  believe  there  is  truth  in  the  old  adage,  "Blessings 
sometimes  come  in  disguise!"  The  opening  day  of  the 
new  St.  Mary's  was  indeed  a  memorable  one. 

THE  SIXTEENTH  ANNIVERSARY 

From  the  Rector  s  Address 

SIXTEEN  years  ago,  almost  to  a  day,  this  School  was  opened 
in  prayer  and  faith,  by  the  Rector,  Principal,  and  Matron,  who 

are  still  spared  to  rejoice  in  its  continuance  and  prosperity 

In  these  sixteen  years  changes  have  come.  The  great  house  was 
renovated,  filled,  enlarged.  A  generous  benefactor  was  raised  up  to 

227 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

aid  our  growing  work.  James  Knox,  of  blessed  memory,  provided 
largely  for  the  extension  of  the  building.  Hundreds  of  earnest,  edu- 
cated young  women  have  gone  out  from  here  to  bless  the  world  by 
their  ministrations.  Wherever  they  went,  to  the  hamlets  of  Illinois, 
to  the  homesteads  of  Nebraska,  to  the  frontiers  of  Utah,  to  the 
prairies  of  Indiana,  to  the  great  cities  or  the  crossroad  villages, 
they  were  loved  and  honored.  In  California,  in  Oregon,  in  New 
Hampshire,  in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  they  are  today  doing  the  blessed 
work  which  only  Christian  women  can  do.  "Praise  the  Lord  O  my 
soul,  and  forget  not  all  His  benefits.,, 

Then  came  the  great  calamity  of  the  fire.  In  one  night  the  work 
of  years  was  swept  away.  Our  beautiful  home  was  in  ruins ;  our  books 


NEW  BUILDING  AND  CHAPEL 

(Erected   1883) 


and  apparatus  and  works  of  art  were  consumed,  the  very  tools  and 
implements  of  our  work  were  wrested  from  our  hands.  It  was  a  dark 
hour;  and  as  we  stood  by  the  bedside  of  our  loved  ones  wounded 
nigh  unto  death,  we  felt  that  all  was  over.  "Hath  God  forgotten  to 
be  gracious,  and  will  He  shut  up  His  loving  kindness  in  displeasure?" 
The  white  cross  of  the  Chapel  gleamed  through  the  gray  dawn,  and 
hope  rose  with  the  rising  sun. 

You  know  the  rest.  Some  of  you  know  the  struggle  that  followed, 
the  toil,  privation,  and  anxiety  that  ensued.  Many  of  you  shared 
it  with  us.  You  were  to  us  as  God's  hand  held  out  in  the  dark. 

While  we  rejoice  today  in  a  better  home,  in  larger  numbers  and 
fairer  prospects  than  at  any  preceding  anniversary,  we  must  not 
forget  the  kindness  of  our  good  friends   at  Ansgari   College,   who 

228 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

gave  up  their  building  to  us,  and  submitted  to  much  discomfort,  that 
we  might  reopen  after  the  fire.  We  must  not  forget  the  many  kind 
attentions  of  neighbors  and  the  offerings  in  aid  of  rebuilding.  By  the 
loving  ministrations  of  Christian  friends  who  have  fulfilled  the  in- 
junction, "Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,"  we  are  enabled  to  celebrate 
this  day. 

Yes,  great  changes  have  come,  even  within  a  year.  Twelve 
months  ago  the  ground  of  the  site  where  we  are  now  sheltered  was 
not  broken.  Trees  were  growing  where  now  is  the  dining  room,  and 
piles  of  brick  and  stone  filled  up  the  court  which  is  now  ready  for 
fountain  and  flowers.  It  seems  like  a  dream.  The  transformation  has 
been  wonderful. 

For  the  patience  and  cheerfulness  with  which  you  have  borne  the 
trials  of  starting  anew,  I  thank  you.  To  your  courage  and  persever- 
ance, the  future  of  St.  Mary's  will  be  largely  indebted.  What  would 
be  the  value  of  the  material  building  without  the  living  school?  It 
is  you,  dear  teachers  and  students,  who  have  made  the  living  school 
to  correspond  to  its  environment.  The  building  in  its  fair  proportions 
and  admirable  construction,  is  but  the  outward  expression  of  the 
beauty  and  stability  of  the  institution  in  which  you  are  the  living 
stones.  May  it  ever  be  so;  and  when  you  and  I  must  pass  on  the 
treasure  to  others,  may  they  guard  it  and  use  it  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  benefit  of  His  Holy  Church. 

THE  tables  at  luncheon  were  arranged  in  the  form 
of  a  square,  and  in  the  center,  surrounded  by 
flowers  and  fruits,  was  the  birthday  cake,  with  its  six- 
teen wax  tapers.  "The  Day  We  Celebrate — Sweet  Six- 
teen ;  a  day  bright  with  hopes  of  the  future,  and  fragrant 
with  memories  of  the  past,"  was  the  first  toast.  The 
felicitous  response  was  made  by  Dus  Benjamin,  who 
by  the  date  of  entry  at  St.  Mary's  was  entitled  to  rank 
as  "a  woman  of  '76." 

Dear  Old  Friends  and  New  : 

We  have  left  behind  many  of  the  events  of  the  school  year,  and 
now  we  come  upon  "the  day  we  celebrate,"  remembering  much  (if 
we  have  been  here  long)  of  old  girls,  old  ways,  and  old  days;  and 
looking  forward,  if  we  are  new,  to  much  glory  in  the  time  when  we 

229 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

shall  say,  "Oh,  Anniversary?  Yes;  I  was  at  St.  Mary's  at  the  first 
Anniversary  in  the  new  building."  Can  I  be  prouder  of  anything  than 
that  I  was  here  on  Miss  Annie  Versary's  ninth  birthday?  Then, 
when  I  looked  around  I  saw  Hortense  and  Ida,  Maud  and  Sue; 
Margaret,  Mary,  and  Nell,  and  Jean  were  there,  too. 

We  who  watched  the  growing  child  of  nine,  are  proud  and  glad 
of  the  fair  maid  of  sixteen,  giving  assurance  sweet  of  what  perfect 
growth  of  womanhood  she  will  attain;  and  all,  from  us  who  date 
back  farthest,  to  Gertrude  who  represents  the  class  of  1900,  will 
feel  that  of  all  the  friends  that  we  make  in  the  future,  or  all  that 
we  have  made  in  the  past,  none  is  dearer,  truer,  or  more  tenderly 
remembered  than  Annie  Versary,  whose  sixteenth  birthday  we  cele- 
brate this  day. 

The  next  toast  was  "The  Fire  Brigade;  high  on  the 
roll  of  names  cherished  are  the  names  of  those  who 
stood  by  the  School  in  its  darkest  hour,  who  were  with 
us  in  the  memorable  session  at  St.  Ansgari,  and  who 
by  their  cheering  presence  and  loyal  support  made  pos- 
sible a  future  to  St.  Mary's  School."  Cora  Lingo  of  '84 
said: 

Dr.  Leffingwell:  We,  St.  Ansgari's  girls,  are  most  proud 
and  happy  in  constituting  the  Fire  Brigade  of  St.  Mary's.  Unlike 
Portia  we  are  not  unschooled,  unlessoned,  nor  unpractised,  but  like 
her  we  are  ambitious  in  our  wishes  and  we  desire  to  stand  well  in  our 
school's  account.  We  rejoice  in  her  present  welfare,  and  glory  in  her 
outlook  for  a  brilliant  future. 

Permit  me  to  recall  a  few  of  the  humorous  incidents  of  the  night 
of  the  fire.  We  are  indebted  to  the  fire  in  that  it  displayed  the  acroba- 
tic ability  of  one  of  the  members  of  the  faculty.  Yes,  the  illustrious 
resident  of  Number  Eight  was  that  night  to  distinguish  herself.  Not 
even  stopping  to  fold  the  drapery  of  her  couch  about  her,  she  mounted 
to  the  third  floor.  Then  she  began  to  descend.  Not  in  the  orthodox 
way,  however.  With  proverbial  disregard  of  lowliness,  she  "scorned 
the  base  degrees  by  which  she  did  ascend,"  and,  as  if  to  witch  the 
world  with  daring,  she  slid,  yes,  slid  down  the  banisters!  As  if  this 
feat  were  not  enough  to  immortalize  her,  she  further  added  to  her  re- 

230 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

nown  by  saving  from  her  "worldly  worth,"  from  her  choice  store 
of  brie  a  brae  garnered  in  both  the  old  world  and  the  new,  from  her 
bits  of  priceless  china,  from  her  fine  collection  of  books,  a  hair-pin; 
in  fact  she  was  what  Shakespeare  would  call  "a  snapper-up  of  un- 
considered trifles." 

Several  instances  occurred  on  that  memorable  night,  which  will 
shed  lustre  on  the  annals  of  St.  Mary's  in  the  coming  ages.  For  ex- 
ample, one  young  lady  with  the  coolness  and  self-possession  only  read 
of  in  books,  locked  her  trunk,  placed  the  key  in  her  pocket,  then  her 
common  sense  predominating,  showing  how  much  more  preferable 
is  health  than  wealth,  sallied  out  of  the  burning  building  with  a 
dumb-bell !  One  teacher  transported  her  china  plates  to  the  library,  as 
being  a  resting  place  more  to  be  desired.  One  damsel  true  to  nature 
and  her  sex,  paused  to  take  down  her  crimps.  We  have  all  heard  of 
the  teacher  who  returned  to  extinguish  her  light. 

On  the  happy  life  that  the  Fire  Brigade  led  at  St.  Ansgari's 
after  the  fire,  I  will  not  dwell.  We  were  certainly  drawn  closer  to- 
gether in  the  bonds  of  a  common  misfortune;  and  we  high  privates 
are  proud  to  be  enrolled  under  officers  who  have  proved  themselves 
so  worthy  of  an  enthusiastic  following. 

The  next  toast  was,  "The  Alumnae  of  St.  Mary's 
School,  the  well  beloved  daughters  of  their  Alma 
Mater.  They  are  ever  welcome  when  they  return  to 
renew  the  hallowed  associations  of  the  past."  Belle 
Sanford  of  '83  responded  as  follows: 

Though  I  am  not  surprised  as  Mark  Twain  was  when  called 
upon  to  respond  to  a  toast,  with  a  lengthy  manuscript  in  his  hand 
containing  his  answer,  yet  I  find  myself  at  a  loss  for  words  to  reply 
to  the  sentiment  offered  by  our  beloved  Rector  in  regard  to  the 
Alumnae.  We,  the  Alumnae  of  St.  Mary's  from  1870  to  1884,  are 
scattered,  some  in  foreign  lands  and  others  in  the  remote  portions  of 
our  own  country;  yet  I  can  safely  say  that  St.  Mary's  has  not  a  joy 
or  sorrow,  a  hope  for  the  future,  a  regret  for  the  past,  not  an  interest 
so  trivial,  but  it  is  shared  by  her  Alumnae.  The  very  thought  of  that 
loved  name  awakens  many  tender  memories  laden  with  old  joys  and 
aspirations. 

Though  our  number  is  small  in  comparison  to  what  we  trust  it 

231 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

will  be  in  years  to  come,  yet  we  are  strong  in  our  united  well  wishes 
for  the  School  and  all  those  laboring  in  its  behalf. 

I  say  we  are  few,  and  we  are  also  young.  There  are  none  among 
us  with  silvered  heads,  as  in  many  of  the  older  institutions  of  learn- 
ing; but,  young  as  we  are,  we  hope  we  may  grow  better  and  more 
useful  with  age,  not  only  to  our  fellow-men,  but  also  to  the  School 
that  we  love  best.  Old  St.  Mary's  has  fallen.  New  St.  Mary's  has 
risen.  We  loved  the  old ;  we  love  the  new ;  and  may  we  manifest  our 
love  in  the  near  future  by  giving  it  some  material  aid. 

The  next  toast  was,  "The  Birthday  Cake.  May  it 
and  St.  Mary's  grow  brighter,  bigger,  and  better  to- 
gether." Carrie  Castle,  of  '84,  responded  in  rhyme, 
while  the  tapers  were  lit  by  several  "old  girls,"  in  the 
order  of  their  entrance. 

The  tapers  were  blown  out  and  given  to  those  who 
had  lighted  them,  while  Mrs.  Leffingwell  cut  the  cake 
(and  it  should  be  remembered  she  baked  it)  and  some 
of  the  teachers  distributed  it.  After  it  had  been  eaten, 
and  pronouncd  as  nice  as  it  looked,  the  last  toast  was 
proposed:  "The  Memory  of  Mr.  Knox."  The  school 
stood  while  the  sentiment  was  read : 

"Though  in  the  future  a  host  of  liberal  givers  may  come  forward 
to  enlarge  and  endow  St.  Mary's,  the  name  of  James  Knox  will  re- 
main on  the  corner-stone  through  all  generations,  and  he  will  be  re- 
membered as  the  benefactor  who  came  to  us  in  the  day  of  small 
things  and  helped  to  make  it  a  day  of  great  things." 

A  CONTRAST 

OUR  entrance  into  the  new  building  last  year  (1883)  was 
marked  by  events  such  as  had  never  been  recorded  in  the  annals 
of  St.  Mary's,  and  which  will  go  down  to  her  future  children  as 
legends  scarce  to  be  believed.  Even  this  year's  girls  open  their  eyes, 
when  we  old  girls  relate,  how  some  camped  out  in  the  recreation  hall 
and  practice  rooms,  how  the  study  hall  (our  ideal  of  a  study  hall) 
presented  last  year  a  scene  of  dire  confusion;  how  on  the  first  day 

232 


cd 

X 

+-> 

in 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

of  school,  the  morning  session  was  suspended  in  order  that  the  beau- 
tiful south  window  might  be  put  in  place ;  how  one  evening  a  painter 
fell  from  a  scaffolding  overhead  while  we  were  studying.  At  one  time, 
indeed,  the  study  hall  looked  like  a  Gothic  Cathedral,  with  its  many 
rows  of  scaffolding  timbers.  This  scaffolding  was  put  up  for  the  pur- 
pose of  redecorating  the  ceiling  (injured  by  rain),  and  all  day  long 
the  skillful  artists  worked  above  our  heads.  "High  art !" 

The  West  Wing,  now  so  familiar,  was  at  the  beginning  of  last 
year  veiled  in  mystery;  the  halls  leading  thither  were  blocked,  and 
only  at  rare  intervals  could  we  have  a  glimpse  of  what  was  beyond. 
At  all  hours  might  be  heard  "the  sound  of  hammers,  blow  on  blow;" 
and  if  it  disturbed  us  we  were  consoled  by  the  thought  of  the  beauti- 
ful house  we  were  to  have  in  days  to  come.  Each  day,  as  we  came 
down  from  our  lessons,  some  improvement  greeted  us. 

One  peculiarity  of  these  days  was  that  we  frequently  spent 
study  hour  in  our  rooms;  think  of  the  delight  of  studying  when  we 
might  be  clad  in  the  much  loved  Mother  Hubbard!  On  occasions 
not  so  very  rare,  we  had  no  study  hour  at  all. 

Last  year  school  opened  with  rain  outside  and,  I  am  afraid,  in- 
side; for  while  the  old  girls  were  rejoiced  at  being  in  the  new  build- 
ing, and  gladly  suffered  any  inconvenience,  the  new  girls  (what  with 
the  gloomy  weather  and  the  confusion  of  the  house)  could  not  help 
feeling  a  little  homesick.  They  had  not,  however,  been  long  in  St. 
Mary's  halls  before  their  faces  began  to  brighten. 

NOW  call  to  mind  the  opening  of  school  this  year.  The  examina- 
tions for  admission  to  classes  were  all  over  the  day  before, 
much  to  the  relief  of  both  teacher  and  pupil.  Wednesday  the  17th  of 
September  dawned  bright  and  clear,  and  when  the  bell  rang  for 
Matins,  a  goodly  company  of  happy,  smiling  girls  gathered  in  the 
study  hall  to  join  in  the  beautiful  and  impressive  service.  After 
prayers  Dr.  Leffingwell  made  a  brief,  but  not  the  less  impressive, 
address.  Indeed, 

"A  little  said  and  truly  said 
Can  deeper  joy  impart, 
Than  hosts  of  words  that  reach  the  head 
But  never  touch  the  heart." 

The  first  week,  outside  of  school  hours,  was  devoted  to  the  excit- 
ing duties  of  unpacking,  and  of  household  decoration.  This  year  we 

233 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

were  able  to  adorn  our  bowers  when  inspiration  prompted,  without 
awaiting  the  pleasure  of  the  relentless  carpenter. 

Last  year,  in  spite  of  unfinished  building,  homesick  girls,  and 
darkening  skies,  was  a  time  most  of  us  remember  with  pleasure.  For 
was  it  not  the  greatest  event  in  the  history  of  St.  Mary's  School, 
when  it  arose  from  its  ashes  more  beautiful  than  before?  This  year 
also,  with  its  completed  building,  its  bright  skies  and  cheerful  girls, 
will  form  a  precious  link  in  "memory's  golden  chain." 

THE  BOX  FROM  CHINA 

(The  Palladium,  January,  1884) 
N  interesting  event  following  the  fire  was  a  box  from  China. 


A 


The  children  of  our  St.  Mary's  Mission  School  in  Shanghai, 
reading  about  the  burning  of  St.  Mary's,  decided  to  do  something 
to  aid  in  rebuilding. 

Though  busy  with  their  examinations,  they  contrived  to  make 
many  fancy  articles,  to  dress  dolls,  etc.,  all  of  which  were  sent,  to 
be  sold  for  the  benefit  of  St.  Mary's.  The  box  arrived  on  the  third 
of  January,  and  the  next  evening,  the  anniversary  of  the  fire,  it  was 
opened.  Dr.  Leffingwell  first  read  the  letter  sent  by  the  matron  of 
the  school,  telling  how  those  Chinese  girls  had  sacrificed  their  play- 
hours  in  order  to  get  the  box  ready  to  send  before  their  school  should 
break  up  for  the  summer  vacation.  Every  article  was  nicely  done  up 
in  soft  Chinese  paper.  First  appeared  two  large  dolls,  then  half  a 
dozen  smaller  ones,  all  beautifully  dressed.  Everything  was  complete 
from  the  bead-like  charms  on  their  caps  to  their  dainty  little  shoes. 

Silk  mats  exquisitely  embroidered,  pincushions  in  great  variety, 
shoes  and  socks  of  different  colors,  crocheted  silk  mitts,  and  ever  so 
many  more  pretty  things  were  gradually  unpacked,  amid  exclama- 
tions of  delight  from  the  interested  beholders,  who  could  not  but  be 
deeply  touched  by  the  kindness  and  thoughtfulness  of  those  friends 
at  the  Antipodes.  Arrangements  were  made  for  placing  these  beauti- 
ful gifts  on  sale  in  Chicago. 


w 


ITH  the  box  came  this  loving  message,  given  here  exactly  as 
written  by  the  Chinese  Bible  Reader,  Izumi  Wei. 

TO  ALL  OUR  BELOVED  FRIENDS  IN  CHRIST:  Venerable  gentlemen, 
ladies,  friends,  all  superiors  and  elders:  In  sending  this  box  of  work  done 
by  St.  Mary's  girls,  I  write  a  few  lines  according  to  Mrs.  Boone's  advice, 

234 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

to  give  report  or  even  to  bear  eye-witness  about  our  hands  and  minds  go  on 
to  work  from  the  first  to  last.  On  Saturday  morning  Mrs.  Boone  came  in 
on  a  sudden,  and  consulted  Miss  Wong  about  having  such  and  such  work 
for  the  girls  to  be  done  in  a  limited  time  of  two  weeks. 

At  first  Miss  Wong  thought,  according  to  her  thorough  judgment,  that 
the  time  would  rather  too  short,  and  suggest  to  Mrs.  Boone  that  as  the  chil- 
dren were  all  very  busy  with  their  lessons  for  the  coming  examination  of 
Summer  Vacation,  she  thought  they  certainly  could  not  do  much  within  so 
short  a  space  unless  they  could  be  allowed  to  give  up  their  study  and  works 
entirely.  Mrs.  Boone  said  indeed  so,  but  it  will  be  a  pity  to  spoil  them  of  their 
very  good  examinations  which  was  always  so  highly  esteemed  by  all.  At 
last  Miss  Wong  determined  to  send  for  the  girls  to  see  what  idea  they  have 
for  it.  All  felt  very  sad  about  your  loss,  but  their  faces  soon  brightened 
when  they  heard  that  they  were  asked  to  do  some  good  works,  and  declared 
their  willingness  with  childish  glee. 

You  can  imagine  that  they  have  joked  a  great  deal  while  dressing  the 
dolls;  for  instance,  one  would  say,  "Ah,  ma!  come  and  see  who  this  baby 
likes!  O,  he  is  the  very  picture  of  our  Coolie,  but  I  think  that  one  is  more 
like  you,  for  he  looks  so  pretty!"  "And  what  of  this  one  here,  and  that 
one?"  they  argued  more  on  other  works,  small  feet,  embroideries,  baby 
shoes;  about  their  colors,  and  which  or  what  every  one  likes  or  preferred. 
Some  said  "Lents-uns,  how  beautiful  your  embroidered  pin  cushion  is!  I  am 
sure  it  will  sell  a  good  price,  and  it  is  the  prettiest  and  also  the  heaviest." 
A  ringing  of  merry  laughing  followed.  Another  said:  "Perhaps  these  Chinese 
small  feet  shoes  will  be  a  wonderful  amusement  to  foreign  ladies,  and  will 
not  doubt  sell  off  well."  One  remarked  sincerely  to  the  rest:  "Oh,  these 
sweet  dolls?  how  fortunate  for  them  to  be  dressed  so  nicely  and  leave  here 
to  America  to  meet  so  many  good  Christian  friends!  I  do  envy  them,  for  we 
fellows  could  never  have  such  a  chance.  Good  bye,  dolly!  May  you  be  a 
pleasure  to  them  that  shall  possess  you!"  Miss  Wong  thinks  the  couple  of 
lace-trimmed  mats  must  please  you,  especially  the  one  with  the  Fancy  flowers, 
as  the  stuff  itself  was  spunned  by  silk  worms. 

Thus  they  reason  upon  everything  they  made  with  gladness,  till  a  heap 
of  work  is  done,  then  they  began  to  count  the  things,  calculating  how  much 
will  be  its  worth.  Some  thought  it  so  little,  and  wished  they  could  have  some 
more,  others  thinks  it  will  be  so  nice  if  they  could  make  up  a  hundred  dollars. 
In  less  than  a  fortnight  Miss  Wong  got  them  all  ready  and  spread  out  all 
on  our  piano,  showing  to  Mrs.  Boone  and  the  other  ladies;  the  girls  all 
clapped  their  hands  for  joy,  proclaiming  that  they  did  not  believe  themselves 
that  they  have  made  up  these  works  in  two  weeks,  hot  weather,  at  the  same 
time  sincerely  hope  that  more  time  will  be  given  them  to  make  some  better 
works  for  next  year. 

I  do  not  mean  to  boast  of  them  from  what  is  written,  but  simply  to  show 
their  character  of  Christian  love  and  gratefulness  to  what  has  been  done 
for  them.  Besides,  you  see  they  are  merry  and  cheerful,  and  as  Mrs.  Wong 
here  have  been  indeed  greatly  satisfied  to  see  with  us  all  them  so  willing 
to  labor  for  this  good  cause. 

I  trust  and  hope  that  you  with  all  friends  will  likewise  be  much  com- 
forted, and  encouraged  to  lift  up  your  hands  for  more  good  works  towards 

235 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

all  heathen  nations.  The  girls  seemed  to  feel  always  in  their  minds  how 
good  and  liberal  you  all  have  been  to  us  in  giving  freely  for  our  mission, 
and  our  hearts  went  low  when  we  think  how  we  couldn't  do  any  good  in 
return.  So  we  all  highly  value  the  opportunity  Mrs.  Boone  suggest,  and  tried 
to  improve  it  with  what  is  in  our  ability  to  perform.  Here  I  am  to  beg  for 
our  girls  encouragement,  that  we  hope  many  generous  friends  will  give 
their  kind  assistance  in  buying  of  the  things,  and  let  us  know  what  kind 
of  work  will  best  suit  you,  for  we  are  afraid  that  they  may  find  un- 
profitable. 

Now  may  also  I  be  permitted  to  ask  the  favor  of  your  acceptances  of 
this  humble  gift  in  this  Chinese  adage  which  seemed  to  fit  the  case  so  well: 
"Carrying  presents  of  feathers  to  a  thousand  miles  distant  friend,  yet  sin- 
cerity of  the  heart  is  great  and  heavy,  though  the  gift  is  rather  light  and 
small,  is  not  this  a  fair  excuse?"  but  more  fervently  I  hope  that  even  this 
or  every  other  Christian's  little  words  of  kindness,  little  deeds  of  love, 
through  God's  blessing  may  turn  the  Gospel  to  mighty  ages  of  eternity  in 
everywhere. 

We  send  you  all  the  greeting  in  the  name  of  our  Lord,  our  Common 
Redeemer  and  Mediator.  May  His  blessing  pour  abundantly  upon  you, 
His  smile  like  sunshine  brighten  your  path,  and  prospering  all  your  labor  to 
the  saving  of  poor  souls  for  His  name's  sakes.  Farewell,  and  best  wishes 
to  all  dear  friends,  till  we  meet  in  the  world  above,  where  no  oceans  and 
seas  may  separate  us  from  seeing  each  other;  and  indeed  that  will  be 
joyful  when  we  meet  to  part  no  more. 

Respectfully  yours, 

Izunie  Wei, 
Teacher  and  Bible  reader  of  St.  Mary's. 


THE  READING  FROM  HAMLET 

IT  was  with  more  than  ordinary  interest  that  all  anticipated  the 
reading  from  Hamlet.  It  was  the  occasion  of  a  grand  opening, 
or  at  least  the  first  using  of  the  new  stage  in  the  study  hall.  So  it 
was,  that  the  event  was  hailed,  not  with  the  merry  enthusiasm  of 
Pinafore  days,  but  with  enjoyment  profound  and  well  befitting  the 
dignified  character  of  the  drama.  Promptly  at  the  hour  indicated  on 
the  programmes  (yes,  we  had  real  printed  programmes),  a  stately 
march  was  heard;  then,  as  the  curtain  parted  and  the  Dramatis 
Personae  entered,  so  superb  were  they  in  costume,  and  in  bearing  so 
distingue,  that  the  general  and  suppressed  murmur  in  the  audience 
meant,  "Oh,  brave  new  stage,  that  hath  such  players  on  it!" 

And  then  the  play  began ;  for  play  indeed  it  was,  and  a  very  com- 
plete one,  though  the  programmes  had  modestly  announced,  "Reading 
From   Hamlet."   Carrie   Castle   personated   Hamlet,   presenting,   in 


236 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

truth,  a  most  intelligent  idea  of  the  character.  One  of  the  best  points 
in  her  rendering  was  thought  by  many  to  be  her  responsive  manner 
in  the  ghost  scene,  and  indeed  that  ghost  (it  was  Christa  Burgess, 
who  ordinarily  appears  as  a  substantial  reality),  that  ghost,  I  say, 
might  well  have  infused  in  Hamlet  the  spirit  which  seemed  to  pos- 
sess him;  for  as  regarding  costume,  gesture,  and  voice,  one  might 
have  supposed  it  a  being  directly  from  the  realm  of  spirits.  The  fair 
Ophelia  (Grace  Warren),  in  her  most  piteous  madness,  caused  many 
an  eye  to  moisten.  The  king  and  queen  (Lucretia  Roberts  and  Emily 
Seamans)  were  very  magnificent  in  their  royal  robes,  and  by  their 
majestic  bearing  and  the  excellent  rendering  of  their  parts,  proved 
how  fitly  those  characters  had  been  cast.  Especially  was  the  Queen 
Mother  complimented,  in  the  scene  in  which  Hamlet  "cleft  her  heart 
in  twain."  Hattie  Post  excited  much  enthusiasm  in  her  impersonation 
of  Polonius,  while  many  admiring  comments  were  made  upon  the 
grace  and  tastefulness  which  characterized  the  acting  of  the  Player 
Queen  (Annie  Foot). 

Indeed,  every  part  of  the  play  was  so  "well  spoken,  with  such 
good  accent  and  good  discretion,"  as  to  show  the  admirable  under- 
standing and  delicate  appreciation  of  it  by  those  who  thus  held  the 
mirror  up  to  nature.  And  those  who  have  so  well  studied  this  literary 
wonder,  are  rewarded  not  only  by  the  praises  they  have  received, 
but  by  the  "knowledge  which  comes,  and  the  wisdom  which  remains." 

— Fanelia  Lewis,  '83. 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  ANNIVERSARY 

THE  snow  white  cake  adorned  the  festal  board,  and  the  Seniors 
lighted  the  seventeen  tapers.  The  usual  toasts  were  responded 
to  most  eloquently.  "The  day  we  celebrate.  Many  happy  returns  of 
the  day,"  was  the  first.  The  response  by  Christa  Burgess,  of  '85,  was 
as  follows : 

Dr.  Leffingwell:  Not  many  of  us  who  are  present  were  so  happy  as  to 
witness  the  lighting  of  that  little  taper  which,  once  upon  a  time,  proclaimed 
that  St.  Mary's  was  "just  one,  going  on  two."  Indeed,  most  of  us,  like  our 
Alma  Mater,  had  our  future  all  before.  To  all  of  us,  however,  the  early 
history  of  the  school  is  a  story  always  heard  with  interest,  and  we  loyally 
hold  that  our  Alma  Mater,  if  not  a  veritable  Minerva,  had,  at  least,  no 
salad  days  when  she  was  green  in  judgment.  Many  of  us  have  seen  the 
birthday  candles   grow  in   number   from   thirteen   to   seventeen;    we   have 

237 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

shared  in  the  sorrow,  and  rejoiced  in  the  happy  recovery  from  the  calamity 
that  marked  as  memorable  St.  Mary's  "teens." 

The  day  we  celebrate  is  associated  with  happy  memories  of  the  past,  and 
with  loving  hopes  of  the  future.  May  he  who  has  guided  that  past  be  long 
spared  to  shape  the  future  of  the  school  we  love. 

"The  Alumnae  of  St.  Mary's  School,  The  Well-Beloved 
Daughters  of  their  Alma  Mater."  The  response  was  by  Miss  Post, 
of  '84: 

Had  I  but  known  years  ago,  when  in  a  rhetoric  class,  that  I  was  to  be 
called  upon  for  this  response  today,  I  might  have  observed,  reflected,  con- 
versed, and  read  upon  the  subject;  but  as  it  happens  I  have  not  had  time 
to  prepare  an  extemporaneous  address.  And  here  let  me  give  you  under- 
graduates a  caution.  Don't  be  too  sure  after  you  have  finished  that  all- 
important  graduating  essay,  that  then  and  there  your  literary  career  is 
finished.  Those  of  you  who  will  be  here  on  some  future  anniversary  day  are 
liable  to  be  called  upon  to  do  just  what  I  am  doing  now,  and  I  believe  that 
the  less  you  expect  it,  the  more  surely  will  you  be  kindly  invited  to  perform 
a  similar  duty. 

Now  let  me  say  something  concerning  the  present  and  the  absent  alumnae, 
whose  delegate  to  this  convention  of  merrymakers  I  am.  We  that  are  pres- 
ent are  rejoicing  with  you  in  the  glad  prosperity  of  the  School  that  per- 
mits every  year  this  commemorative  holiday.  The  thoughts  of  the  absent 
alumnae  of  our  dear  Alma  Mater  are  no  doubt  with  us;  and,  though  many 
of  the  St.  Mary's  girls  have  never  seen  the  present  fair  proportions  of  our 
stately  building;  still  they  can  imagine  and  fondly  picture  the  doings  of  this 
day,  the  birthday  cake,  the  toasts,  the  merry  peals  of  laughter,  and  the 
bright  and  happy  faces  of  the  inmates. 

Now  a  word  about  those  who  have  determined  to  try  the  matrimonial 
experiment.  Every  issue  of  that  popular  journal,  the  Palladium,  brings  us 
hymeneal  notices,  and  we  cannot  help  pitying  our  eastern  contemporary,  out 
of  whose  nearly  six  hundred  graduates,  only  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight 
have  been  married.  Truly,  Pope  must  have  been  right  when  he  said: 

"A  little  learning  is  a  dangerous  thing." 

And  now  to  the  health  of  the  young  brides  who,  we  hope,  lighten  their 
husbands'  hearts  as  well  as  their  pocketbooks,  and  who  are  helpmeets  as 
well  as  help-me  eats;  and  now  here's  to  those  that  are  absent,  and  to  those 
that  are  here,  and  to  those  that  are  near  to  us,  and  to  all  who  are  dear. 

"The  Fire  Brigade!  High  on  the  roll  of  names  cherished  at  St. 
Mary's  School  will  be  those  of  the  pupils  who  stood  by  the  School 
in  its  darkest  hour,  they  who  were  with  us  in  the  memorable  session 
at  St.  Ansgari;  and  who  by  their  cheering  presence  and  loyal  sup- 
port made  possible  a  future  to  St.   Mary's  School,"  was  the  next 

238 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

toast  proposed.  The  response,  by  Marguerite  Bouvet,  of  '85,  was  as 
follows : 

Dr.  Leffingwell:  In  behalf  of  those  whose  names  are  immortalized  by 
being  enrolled  in  "The  Fire  Brigade,"  I,  a  modest  private,  rise  in  all  humil- 
ity to  respond  to  the  toast  with  which  you  honor  us. 

Wherefore  should  I  dwell  upon  the  sad  memories  of  that  period  which 
we  would  fain  forget  in  the  wealth  of  today's  happiness  and  prosperity!  It 
is  of  the  five  happy  months  spent  at  Ansgari  that  I  would  speak. 

Which  of  us,  now,  does  not  look  back  to  that  time  with  something  like 
a  longing  for  the  jolly  hours  in  the  Annex?  Was  ever  family  more  closely 
united,  in  the  most  literal  sense  of  the  word,  than  ours  was  in  that  abode 
which  proved  to  be,  certainly  not  a  thing  of  beauty,  but  at  least  a  joy  for- 
ever! Even  now,  I  seem  to  hear  that  sound  of  revelry  by  night,  which  kept 
the  officers  on  duty,  mounting  guard  with  book  and  pencil  in  hand. 

Surely,  our  Principal  could  well  lose  sight  of  her  former  glories,  even 
of  her  much  lamented  lounge,  when  surrounded,  as  she  was  in  her  palatial 
apartment  at  Ansgari,  with  school  benches  on  one  side,  and  milk  pans,  tin 
spoons,  and  divers  cooking  utensils  on  the  other.  'Twas  then  that  ration 
teas  abounded,  and  girls  were  wont  to  flock  up  there  with  startling  appetites. 

The  morning  walks,  too,  had  a  new  charm;  for  these  were  often  con- 
verted into  digging  expeditions  to  the  ruins.  The  ruins!  how  strange  and 
old  that  sounds  now  that  they  are  ruins  no  more! 

I  wonder  if  the  Jasons,  of  '49,  sought  their  gold  in  a  more  determined 
and  efficacious  manner  than  did  Mrs.  Rudd,  for  the  relics  of  her  former 
possessions.  She  and  her  party  haunted  the  premises  with  shovels  and  pokers, 
and  other  instruments  of  excavation ;  and  the  news  of  every  discovery,  even 
that  of  Harold's  tin  savings  bank,  was  hailed  by  our  little  world  with  joyful 
acclamations. 

There  is  a  certain  tender  pathos  hovering  about  that  yet  cheerful  season, 
that  must  go  with  us  through  all  our  future ;  and  every  member  of  the  "Fire 
Brigade"  will  be  proud  to  write  after  her  name,  though  that  name  itself 
may  change,  the  significant  letters,  "F.  B.  of  St.  M." 

In  those  days  we  learned  lessons  which  we  shall  remember  longer  than 
Algebra  or  Psychology,  lessons  which  only  that  sternest  of  teachers,  Ex- 
perience, can  give;  and  it  is  only  by  having  felt  her  mighty  ferule  that  we 
can  now  realize  how  sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity. 

Short  addresses  by  Mr.  Rudd  and  one  of  the  guests  enlivened  the 
merrymaking,  and  the  school  stood  while  a  sentiment  in  memory  of 
Mr.  Knox  was  read.  The  day  closed  very  pleasantly  by  a  dance  in 
the  Recreation  Hall  to  the  music  of,  if  not  the  spheres,  something 
better  attuned  to  ears  accustomed  to  the  harmonies  of  our  terrestrial 
globe. 


239 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
THANKSGIVING  DAY 

AFTER  dinner,  the  usual  "quips  and  cranks"  caused  much  merri- 
ment. When  these  were  finished,  our  dear  Rector  invited  us 
to  come  to  the  parlors  in  the  evening,  and  roused  our  curiosity  by 
saying  that  he  had  still  another  surprise  in  store  for  us!  Many  were 
the  surmises  as  to  what  this  could  be ;  but  we  finally  decided  it  must 
have  something  to  do  with  the  new  wing,  which  was  about  completed ; 
for  had  we  not  noticed  an  air  of  secrecy  about  "Kurtz,"  and  found 
that  after  every  trip  thither,  ostensibly  to  put  in  gas  and  steam  pipes, 
he  securely  locked  the  door  ? 

Tea  was  served  and  then  the  mystery  was  solved;  strains  of 
music  reached  our  ears,  as  the  doors  of  the  new  building  were  thrown 
open,  and  we  were  invited  to  enter.  Imagine  our  surprise  at  finding 
ourselves  in  a  large  room,  brilliantly  lighted,  gaily  decorated  with 
Chinese  lanterns  and  flags,  an  orchestra  at  one  end,  and  the  floor 
waxed  for  dancing!  And  how  we  danced,  and  how  merry  we  were! 
There  was  indeed  a  "sound  of  revelry"  in  the  air,  for,  while  dancing 
was  going  on  in  this  "new  trunk  room"  (as  it  is  to  be  called),  the 
parlors  were  the  scene  of  good  old-fashioned  games.  The  school  girl's 
favorite  expression,  "perfectly  lovely,"  is  the  only  way  in  which  we 
can  describe  our  enjoyment  of  the  evening;  and  we  imagine  that  our 
hostess,  as  we  took  our  leave  of  her,  heard  it  over  and  over  again! 
This  Thanksgiving  Day  at  St.  Mary's  will  be  long  remembered  by 
us,  as  one  of  the  happiest  days  of  our  lives.        — S.  M.  J.,  '88. 


IN  MANY  climes,  thro'  many  years, 
I  cannot  now  remember 
An  autumn  month  so  mild  and  calm, 
As  this  serene  November. 

In  all  the  happy  scenes  and  days 
In  which  I  have  been  living, 

There's  none,  I  think,  that  can  compare 
With  this  superb  Thanksgiving. 

I  never  saw  so  many  girls 

With  sweet  and  happy  faces, 

Such  winsome  lasses,  all  adorned 
With  lovely  charms  and  graces. 

240 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

I  never  saw  such  pretty  hats, 

Nor  heard  such  witty  rhyming, 
There's  music  in  the  air  today, 

With  which  our  hearts  are  timing. 

— C.  W.  L. 


AMONG  the  objects  of  interest  at  New  St.  Mary's  is  a  large 
Meneely  bell,  given  by  Miss  Hitchcock,  in  memory  of  her 
mother.  The  memorial  is  especially  appropriate,  from  the  fact  that 
Mrs.  Hitchcock  was  a  Meneely,  of  the  family  so  long  known  through- 
out the  country  in  connection  with  bell-making ;  indeed,  the  bell  was 
cast  by  her  nephew,  Clinton  H.  Meneely.  The  weight  of  the  bell  is 
over  seven  hundred  pounds,  Its  tone  is  very  sweet,  unless  one  happens 
to  be  too  near,  as  is  often  the  case ;  for  at  present,  the  bell  occupies  a 
place  on  the  stage  in  the  study  hall.  We  hope  soon  to  hear  it  ring 
out  joyfully  from  the  belfry  of  our  new  St.  Mary's ;  and  may  it  never 
have  to  sound  a  fire  alarm ! 

THE  Rev.  Wm.  B.  Morrow,  of  Sayre,  Pa.,  has  spent  another 
week  at  St.  Mary's,  having  been  so  kind  as  to  come  all  the  way 
from  his  home  to  train  the  School  in  Church  music.  As  on  former 
occasions  when  he  has  been  at  St.  Mary's  for  such  a  purpose,  there 
has  been  most  earnest  practice,  and  all  were  thankful  for  such  an 
opportunity  to  improve  the  sacred  music  of  the  School.  Mr.  Morrow's 
kindness  is  appreciated,  and  the  influence  of  his  training  will  long 
be  felt.  We  regret  only  that  we  can  not  have  oftener  the  benefit  of  his 
instructions.  On  Sunday  evening,  at  the  request  of  the  Rector,  Mr. 
Morrow  consented  to  give  us  an  account  of  his  work  in  Bethlehem, 
during  the  pestilence  that  raged  there  something  more  than  a  year 
ago.  He  dwelt  eloquently  on  the  devotion,  heroism,  and  efficiency  of 
his  helpers,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Margaret.  His  audience  listened  with 
almost  breathless  attention  to  his  graphic  descriptions  of  scenes  in 
which  the  pathetic  indeed  predominated,  but  in  which  the  horrible, 
the  grotesque,  and  even  the  humorous,  strangely  mingled. 

PROMINENT  among  the  host  of  St.  Mary's  well-wishers 
and  helpers  is  Bishop  Garrett  of  Northern  Texas.  This  last 
summer  he  showed  his  interest  and  affection  for  the  School  in  a  very 
pleasant  manner.  In  response  to  numerous  invitations  issued  by  the 
Bishop  and  Mrs.  Garrett,  a  large  number  of  guests  assembled  at  his, 

241 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

beautiful  home  in  the  suburbs  of  Dallas  to  meet  the  Texas  girls  soon 
after  their  return  from  school.  A  gay  and  animated  throng  filled  the 
spacious  drawing  rooms  and  promenaded  the  well-kept  lawns,  while 
the  orchestra  discoursed  sweet  music.  The  grounds  were  beautifully 
illuminated;  one  noticeable  feature  of  the  illumination  being  the 
bright  outline  of  a  large  ship.  At  a  late  hour  the  guests  dispersed, 
having  spent  a  most  delightful  evening,  while  the  Texas  girls  were 
proud  of  the  honor  they  had  received,  and  grateful  to  the  Bishop 
and  Mrs.  Garrett  for  their  thoughtful  kindness.  For  the  greatly  be- 
loved Bishop,  who  takes  such  a  hearty  interest  in  the  welfare  of  our 
School,  we  wish  that  he  may  be  spared  yet  many  years  to  wear 
"nobility's  true  badge,"  and  gladden  the  hearts  about  him  by  his 
virtue,  kindness,  and  benevolence. 

A  SCENE  IN  STUDY  HOUR 

IT  is  a  very  little  thing, 
The  subject  of  this  rhyme; 
But  great  the  trouble  it  may  cause 
In  pleasant  summer  time. 

Come  with  me  to  the  Study  Hall 
This  warm  and  balmy  eve, 
The  place  is  beautiful  enough 
A  monarch  to  receive. 

Great  silence  fills  the  spacious  room, 
Bright  eyes  o'er  books  are  bent, 
Deep  thought  is  seated  on  each  brow 
On  lessons  now  intent. 

One  thinks  that  naught  could  e'er  disturb 
The  mystic,  witching  spell, 
Save  when  a  warning  note  shall  sound 
From  prompt  electric  bell. 

But,  quietly,  a  something  black 
Comes  floating  toward  the  light, 
A  start,  a  look,  and  all  is  changed ; 
No  more  the  world  seems  bright. 

Those  Latin  verbs,  and  vexing  sums, 
Those  tales  of  ancient  Greece, 
All  vanish  from  the  youthful  mind, 
And  war  now  follows  peace. 

242 


CO 

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EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Anxiety  is  on  each  face, 
One  clutches  at  her  hair, 
Another  scans  her  neighbor's  neck 
To  see  if  it  is  there. 

The  Desk  assumes  a  mien  severe 
As  little  shrieks  arise, 
But  smiles  when  bold  and  valiant  maid 
The  visitor  defies. 

O!  you  of  black  and  shining  wing! 
Ambition  we  admire; 
But  much  prefer  you'd  stay  below 
And  not  so  high  aspire. 

We  love  the  green  and  leafy  May 
The  radiant,  smiling  June; 
But  wish  the  bug  that  comes  with  them 
Transported  to  the  moon. 

-J.  C.  B. 

THE  following  is  a  letter  received  by  Dr.  Leffingwell  from  a 
stranger : 

"My  attention  was  first  called  to  St.  Mary's  while  on  my  way  west  a  few 
years  since.  The  students  were  just  leaving  for  home  at  the  close  of  the 
school  in  summer.  I  may  say  the  car  was  filled  with  them.  I  at  once  marked 
their  ladylike  conduct.  There  were  none  of  the  over-giddy  and  boisterous 
demonstrations  so  common  with  girls  'just  out  of  school.'  I  thought  they 
were  the  happiest  lot  of  girls  in  each  other's  company  I  ever  saw,  and  also 
the  most  healthy-looking.  I  at  once  concluded  that  the  young  ladies  at  your 
school  received  that  maternal  oversight  so  essential  to  good  and  proper  dis- 
cipline at  a  boarding  school.  All  further  inquiries  have  strengthened  my 
faith  therein." 

MANY  kinds  of  trees  are  found  in  St.  Mary's  lawns  and  gardens: 
Butternut,  chestnut,  walnut,  box-elder,  tamarack,  mountain 
ash,  pine,  arbor  vitae,  spruce,  hard-maple,  soft-maple,  elm,  sycamore, 
poplar,  oak,  catalpa,  three  varieties  of  willow,  birch,  larch,  apples, 
crab-apple,  cherry,  wild  cherry,  peach,  pear,  and  plum,  twenty-eight 
distinct  varieties  of  trees,  besides  a  great  number  of  shrubs,  vines,  and 
flowers. 

ON  Monday  evening,  October  29th,  the  long  looked  for  Piano- 
forte  Lecture   Recital,   by   Edward   Baxter   Perry,   the   blind 
pianist  of  Boston,  took  place.  The  recital  was  given  in  our  large 

243 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

study  hall,  and  was  listened  to  with  keen  appreciation.  Those  who 
heard  Mr.  Perry's  recital  a  year  ago  knew  what  a  treat  was  in  store, 
and  gave  such  glowing  descriptions  to  the  newcomers,  that  an  enthusi- 
astic audience  was  the  result.  Mr.  Perry's  manner  of  speaking  in  the 
small  lectures  which  preceded  each  number  was  as  charming  as  his 
music,  and  aided  much  in  the  appreciation  of  the  compositions.  The 
programme  was  admirably  selected  and  rendered,  and  received  the 
applause  it  merited.  The  Gavotte  and  the  Twelfth  Rhapsody,  in 
particular,  were  received  with  great  enthusiasm.      — A.  B.  S.,  '89. 

AS  is  the  custom  of  the  girls  of  St.  Mary's,  all  sorts  of  queer  names 
have  been  given  to  their  rooms.  This  year,  since  all  was  new, 
there  was  a  wider  field  for  the  display  of  ingenuity;  and  one,  in 
traversing  the  halls,  meets  with  such  odd  names  as,  "Old  Curiosity 
Shop,"  "The  Asylum,"  "Poor  House,"  "Dew-Drop  Inn,"  "Utopia," 
"The  Bee  Hive."  These  names  are  probably  devises  to  attract  visi- 
tors, since  those  possessing  inquiring  minds  may  desire  to  investigate 
"what  there  is  (with)  in  a  name?" 


2\\ 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

ROGRESS  and  improvement  are  every- 
where visible.  The  city  has  joined  with  the 
Rector  in  laying  a  substantial  brick  walk  to 
the  railroad,  and  filling  up  the  low  ground 
where  was  the  bridge.  In  place  of  the  bridge  there  are 
now  solid  masonry  and  iron  railings.  The  Observatory 
stands  resplendent  in  red  and  yellow,  on  the  near  corner 
of  the  old  factory  grounds;  and  the  material  saved  from 
the  mill  has  taken  new  form  and  a  new  lease  of  life  in 
an  Annex  on  the  north  of  the  main  building,  for  the 
storage  of  trunks  and  for  other  practical  uses.  In  the 
basement,  there  will  be  coal  room,  wood  room,  paint 
room,  and  work  room.  The  old  gas  works  have  been 
removed,  and  will  be  used  to  light  St.  Mary's  Church 
and  the  grounds  about  the  building.  New  and  improved 
gas  works  have  been  provided  for  the  house.  The  large 
hall  on  the  third  floor  of  the  west  wing,  used  heretofore 
for  trunks,  is  to  be  divided,  giving  a  commodious  music 
hall  to  the  Director  of  Music,  and  enlarging  Dr. 
Rudd's  recitation  room  and  laboratory.  As  the  years  go 
by,  St.  Mary's  grows  more  beautiful  and  complete,  and 
we  trust  that  the  work  done  in  the  school  will  mark  as 
great  an  advance  as  that  which  is  done  by  way  of 
material  improvements. 


245 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
A  NEW  DEPARTURE 

THE  alumnae  of  St.  Mary's,  who  have  stood  on  the  rostrum 
with  fear  and  trembling  to  read  the  graduating  essay  of 
which  the  writing  had  cost  them  so  many  minutes,  perhaps  hours  of 
painful  anxiety,  will  be  able  to  rejoice  with  the  class  of  '87  in  their 
exemption  from  reading  on  Commencement  Day. 

It  took  a  good  deal  of  persuasion  and  one  or  two  petitions  to  effect 
this  change  in  the  programme ;  but  with  the  combined  efforts  of  some 
of  the  faculty,  and  the  very  earnest  appeals  of  the  classes  of  '87  and 
'88,  our  Rector's  hard  (?)  heart  was  touched,  and  he  consented  to 
do  away  with  the  essays  for  this  year,  or  rather  with  the  reading 
of  them,  "just  to  see  how  it  would  work." 

A  Valedictorian  and  Salutatorian  have  been  appointed;  and  the 
choice  made  by  the  officers  of  the  School  is  heartily  endorsed  by  all 
its  members.  The  Valedictorian  is  Alice  Leffingwell,  and  the  Salutato- 
rian is  Sara  Wheeler.  The  happy  recipients  of  these  deserved  honors 
received  the  hearty  congratulations  of  teachers  and  schoolmates;  and 
they  were  commiserated  not  a  little,  also,  for  alas!  they  have  to 
read  their  essays!  There  are  some  drawbacks  even  to  the  glory  of 
getting  highest  honors! 

It  may  be  well  to  say  here  that  essays  have  to  be  written  just 
as  usual;  and  are  to  be  read  before  the  Rector,  the  Principal,  and 
others  of  the  faculty.  We  shall  not  mind  that,  though,  if  those  who 
have  to  listen  to  them  do  not. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  their  schoolmates  if  we  record  that  our 
Salutatorian  has  had  first  honor  the  four  years  of  her  connection  with 
the  school ;  that  our  Valedictorian  has  not  been  off  the  roll  since  she 
was  six  years  old,  and  with  first  honor  for  a  time  extending  far 
back  into  the  "Ante-Igneous  Period." 

THE  READING  FROM  MACBETH 

DAYS  before,  sixteen  dramatic  damsels  had  busied  themselves 
preparing  costumes,  inquiring  from  door  to  door:  "Haven't 
you  a  plaid  shawl,  or  a  rhinestone  pin,  or  something  to  lend  me  for 
Macbeth?"  One  young  lady  was  discovered  investigating  with  fever- 
ish haste  the  chicken  yard,  for  feathers;  while  all  were  discussing 
the  important  question  whether  or  not  cuffs  and  collars  formed  part 
of  the  wardrobe  of  the  prehistoric  Scot. 

It  was  not  a  little  amusing,  the  scene  enacted  in  number  ninety- 

246 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

seven,  when  the  witches  in  Macbeth  were  dyeing  their  costumes.  It 
had  been  decided  that  cheese  cloth,  most  adaptable  of  wash  goods, 
should  be  dyed  the  color  of  dunnest  smoke.  And  so  these  witches 
met,  the  hurly  burly  of  sewing  hour  being  done,  and  began  their 
preparations.  Into  a  cauldron  they  threw  Diamond  Dyes;  and  when 
the  charmed  pot  boiled  and  bubbled,  they  stirred  in  the  cheese  cloth, 
which  speedily  lost  its  creamy  tint,  and  emerged  from  the  mixture, 
of  a  hue  that  defies  description,  a  hue  without  a  name.  When  we  add 
that  the  material  was  made  up  without  being  ironed,  it  will  appear 
that  the  witches  were  sufficiently  wild  in  their  attire. 

The  snow  had  been  falling  steadily  and  lay  piled  in  great  drifts 
across  the  walks.  Few  of  the  invited  guests  could  brave  the  storm, 
though  one  bob-sled  full  ventured  out  from  Knoxville,  and  two  per- 
sons got  safely  through  the  five  miles  ride  from  Galesburg. 

The  curtain  rose  upon  the  witches'  meeting  with  Banquo  and 
Macbeth.  Upon  every  appearance  the  weird  sisters  were  hailed  with 
delight ;  and  the  cauldron  scene  was  applauded  enthusiastically.  Hover- 
ing around  the  mystic  cauldron,  which  in  every-day  life  does  duty  as 
a  soap  kettle,  the  witches  threw  in 

"Eye  of  newt  and  toe  of  frog, 
Wool  of  bat  and  tongue  of  dog," 

and  all  the  other  uncanny  things  that  might  make  the  gruel  thick  and 
slab;  and  as  each  ingredient  was  dropped  in,  a  bright  flame  issued 
from  the  cauldron,  to  the  immense  delight  of  the  spectators.  Dr. 
Rudd  had  charge  of  the  pyrotechnics,  and  to  his  skill  is  due  much  of 
the  weirdness  of  the  apparition  scene.  Imogene  Elliot,  as  the  abhorred 
tyrant  Macbeth,  sustained  her  difficult  part  most  admirably.  Espe- 
cially in  the  banquet  scene  in  Act  Four  did  Miss  Elliot  carry  the 
audience  away  with  her.  Lady  Macbeth,  who  on  ordinary  occasions 
is  known  as  Sara  Wheeler,  was  especially  good  in  the  night  walking 
scene.  The  fair  maiden  representing  Angus  was  rather  embarrassed 
at  the  close  of  the  banquet  scene,  by  finding  herself  alone  with  the 
footlights,  outside  the  drop  curtain!  But  accidents  will  happen;  and 
some  of  us  have  not  forgotten  how  an  ill-timed  rise  of  the  curtain 
last  year  revealed  Hamlet's  mother,  in  royal  crown  and  mantle, 
perched  on  a  stool,  adjusting  scenery! 


247 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
"WHEREVER  I  GO!" 

MRS.  MOORE  (Helen  Johns  '75),  wife  of  Admiral  Charles 
B.  Moore,  U.  S.  N.,  writes  from  Honolulu:  "I  was  surprised 
to  be  introduced  one  day  to  a  Mr.  Winter  of  Galesburg,  Illinois. 
'Have  you  a  sister,  Marion  ?'  I  asked.  'Ah,  yes,  she  is  living  here.  Mrs. 
Hendry.'  'I  am  a  St.  Mary's  girl,  and  she  is  my  classmate!'  I  re- 
plied. 'Why,  who  were  you?'  and  so  on,  exclamations,  recognitions, 
introductions,  friends  found  at  once.  Marion  is  a  much  valued 
teacher  here,  but  resigned  recently. 

"It  is  so  strange  that  I  should  meet  her  here.  I  did  not  even 
know  that  she  had  left  Galesburg.  Florence  Winter  is  teaching  here, 
too,  it  seems.  I  was  much  pleased  also  last  night,  to  receive  a  call 
from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wallace,  who  introduced  himself  into  my  regard 
at  once  by  announcing  that  he  was  a  friend  and  classmate  of  Dr. 
LeffingwelPs,  and  that  he  had  a  daughter  at  St.  Mary's  now.  St. 
Mary's  influences  are  far-reaching!  Wherever  I  go,  I  find  friends 
who  greet  me  warmly  for  the  sake  of  our  Alma  Mater.  Kindest 
recollections  cluster  around  the  beloved  school  days,  and  a  bond  of 
friendship  reaches  out  to  the  farthest  alumna.  Blessings  of  peace  and 
prosperity  go  with  St.  Mary's!  And  to  her  founders  who  have  made 
her  what  she  is — whose  influences  for  good  are  spread  throughout 
the  land!  Ah,  my  friends,  you  have  your  reward!  Who  has  known 
you,  and  is  not  better  for  the  knowledge  ?  Stronger  for  your  strength, 
more  appreciative  for  your  appreciation;  more  patient  for  your 
patience;  more  faithful  for  your  faith!" 

A  WEDDING  IN  THE  CHAPEL 

LAST  Commencement  (1884)  was  made  memorable  by  a  wedding. 
'  As  only  a  few  chosen  ones  were  let  into  the  secret,  many 
of  us  were  not  a  little  surprised  at  seeing  one  of  our  dearest 
schoolmates,  Carrie  Elliott,  snatched  from  our  midst  by  the  hands 
of  crafty  Hymen.  Though  a  surprise,  it  was  none  the  less  welcome; 
for  what  company  of  school  girls  would  not  be  ready  to  enjoy  ro- 
mance, even  though  it  came  at  that  busiest  and  most  important  sea- 
son, Commencement  time! 

The  ceremony  was  certainly  most  impressive  and  beautiful.  It 
was  held  immediately  after  Matins,  in  our  yet  unfinished  Chapel, 
which  had  been  decorated  for  the  occasion  in  rustic  fashion  with 
wreaths  of  evergreen.  The  Misses  Seamans,  Hayes,  Post,  Benjamin, 

248 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Ogden,  and  Knowles  had  been  chosen  for  bridesmaids.  There  were 
indeed  a  hundred  bridesmaids,  as  the  school,  clad  all  in  white  and 
veiled,  were  in  the  train  of  the  bride  as  she  returned  to  the  hall.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  when  the  deed  was  fairly  done,  we  all  pronounced 
it  the  prettiest  wedding  we  had  ever  witnessed;  and  I  am  sure  that 
when  Carrie  left  us,  she  took  with  her  the  best  wishes  and  sincerest 
affection  of  her  schoolmates. 


A  PSYCHOLOGICAL  COMPLEX 

ELEVEN  shaking,  quaking  Seniors  with  despair  plainly  depicted 
on  their  faces,  on  a  certain  Wednesday  morning  awaited  the 
announcement  of  the  result  of  the  much  feared  and  long  dreaded 
Psychology  examination.  On  hearing  the  verdict,  despair  gave  way 
to  elation;  and  as  soon  as  the  first  few  moments  of  jubilation  had 
passed,  there  arose  "the  craving  of  the  sentient  susceptibility,"  and  this 
craving,  "directed  towards  its  object  of  gratification,  was  the  oc- 
casion for  an  executive  agent  (or  rather  two  executive  agents)  to 
go  forth  in  attainment"  of  a  class  supper,  that  should  signalize  the 
victory  over  that  Nemesis  of  girl  graduates,  Psychology.  The  two 
composing  the  commissary  committtee,  blessed  with  an  "antecedent 
state  of  knowing,"  as  they  had  acted  in  that  capacity  once  before,  were 
again  appointed.  They  collected,  not  from  "past  experience,"  but 
from  the  girls,  the  wherewith  that  insured  "the  capacity  of  spon- 
taneity (we  suppose  it  was)  to  meet  the  wants  of  its  nature."  All 
fears  that  this  "conjunct  activity"  might  prove  a  retent  of  the  cents 
instead  of  a  "content  in  the  sense,"  were  dispelled  on  the  return  of 
the  committee  with  the  viands,  which  produced  a  deep  content  in 
more  senses  than  one.  The  menu  was  rich  and  varied,  and  through 
Mrs.  Leffingwell's  kindness,  we  were  enabled  to  realize  the  great 
benefit  to  be  derived  by  "ration-al"  proceeding.  At  the  end  of  the 
feast  there  was  a  "reciprocal  complacency,"  and  we  felt  that  our 
stride  through  the  "field  of  consciousness  in  the  understanding,"  had 
been  pleasant  as  well  as  profitable. 


249 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

THE  FIRE  ON  THE  HEARTH 

(Written  for  the  Opening  of  the  New  Fireplace 
in  the  Library) 

SHRIVELED  flowers  and  foliage  sere 
Mark  the  waning  of  the  year; 
And  where  summer  beauties  linger, 
Bleak  November's  fiery  finger 
With  a  touch  the  landscape  burns, — 
Green  to  gold  and  crimson  turns. 

Come  within ;  make  fast  the  doors. 
How  the  lonely  night  wind  roars! 
Gloomy  is  the  realm  sidereal; 
Clouds,  like  battleships  aerial, 
Threatening,  thunderous,  issue  forth 
From  their  harbor  in  the  North. 

But  we  heed  not  storm  and  night, 
By  the  hearthstone's  leaping  light; 
Gathered  here  beside  the  ingle, 
We  are  safe,  though  slate  and  shingle 
Quiver,  while  the  autumn  blast 
Rages  round  us  fierce  and  fast. 

Branches  bare  may  writhe  and  swing; 

Merrier  shall  our  carols  ring; 

Frost  and  wind  may  wage  their  battle 

Till  the  very  curbstones  rattle; 

By  the   hearthstone,   bright  and  warm, 

We  will  fear  not  night  and  storm. 

Gathered  round  the  cheerful  fire, 
Pile  the  wood  up  high  and  higher! 
As  the  flames  leap,  brighter,  clearer, 
Home  grows  dearer,  Heaven  seems  nearer; 
Though  the  storm  may  rage  outside, 
Here  within  sweet  peace  shall  bide. 

While  the  flickering  flames  ascend, 
In  sweet  songs  our  voices  blend, 
Youth  and  age,  and  fair-faced  matron, 
Studious  girl  and  loving  patron, 
All  in  thankful  praises  share 
As  we  say  our  evening  prayer. 

250 


Mrs.  Leffingwell's  Rooms 


"The  Fire  on  the  Hearth" 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Now  the  fitful  firelight  fades, 
And  the  bell  warns  little  maids 
That  they  must  not  here  be  staying. 
Curfew  rings!  There's  no  delaying! 
Angels  guard  you  while  you  sleep, 
Watch  and  ward  around  you  keep. 


— C.  W.  L. 


SMOKE  ON  THE  HEARTH 


A  sequel  to  "The  Fire  on  the  Hearth,"  which  was  written  for  Candle 
Light  Recital,  Oct.  27,  1900.  The  chimney  did  not  "draw"  and  the  inaugura- 
tion  of  the   Colonial    Fireplace   ended   in   smoke. 

COME  let  us  make  a  cheerful  fire !" 
The  smiling  Rector  said : 
"Full  many  a  year  we've  waited  here, 
The  hearthstone  cold  and  dead." 

"Ah !  Yes,  and  we  will  celebrate," 

Miss  Howard  quick  replied: 
"By  candle  light  we  will  recite 

Around  the  Fireplace  wide." 

Then  straightway,  fair,  in  hall  and  stair, 

This  notice  all  did  see: 
"Come  one,  come  all!  the  new  Fireplace 

Tonight  shall  opened  be." 

And  so  it  was,  but  sad  to  tell 

Fond  hopes  are  sometimes  hollow: 

The  Fireplace  opened  wide  enough 
But  chimney  would  not  follow. 

Like  mule  perverse  it  would  not  draw, 

It  kicked  against  the  smoke 
Which  filled  the  room  so  full,  it  seemed 

That  everyone  would  choke. 

All  eyes  were  red ;  the  show  was  dead ; 

The  candles  faintly  flickered; 
The  audience  smiled  a  doleful  smile, 

And  here  and  there  one  snickered. 

The  more  they  poked,  the  more  it  smoked, 

And  coaxing  did  not  cure  it; 
'Twas  plain  that  nothing  could  be  done 

But  sit  there  and  endure  it. 

251 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 

Though  it  was  late  to  celebrate, 
The  programme  was  forthcoming, 
A  charming  symphony  of  songs 

And  stringle  strangle  strumming. 

The  climax  was  a  poem  fine 

That  told  of  hearthstone  warming, 

Of  how  the  fire  was  leaping  higher 
While  storm  outside  was  storming. 

The  poet  soared,  the  tempest  roared, 
The  fire  burned  bright  and  cheerful, 

Or  so  at  least  he  sang,  the  while 

His  eyes  with  smoke  were  tearful. 

All  things  may  come  to  those  who  wait, 

The  longest  road  may  turn, 
But  watching  never  boiled  the  pot 

When  fire  refused  to  burn. 

Colonial  Fireplace  without  draught 

Is  but  a  costly  joke; 
So  life's  emprise,  must  heavenward  rise 

Or  all  will  end  in  smoke. 

— C.  W.  L. 

MY  JOURNEY  TO  KNOXVILLE 

PARTING  is  such  sweet  sorrow!"  It  may  have  been  to  Romeo 
and  Juliet,  but  I  failed  to  discover  any  sweetness  in  parting 
from  my  friends  that  beautiful  September  day. 

I  had  disappointed  everybody  by  not  shedding  a  tear;  but  even 
as  I  thought  this,  dear  me,  I  was  crying!  Where  had  fled  my  bright 
dreams  of  boarding  school?  In  vain  I  recalled  all  the  bewitching 
stories  I  had  read  of  midnight  feasts,  of  girls  making  heroines  of  them- 
selves by  saving  some  mate  from  disgrace,  or  possibly  by  saving  a  life. 

Why  did  I  leave  my  home?  Would  my  brothers  miss  me?  If  that 
baby  would  only  stop  crying,  I  am  sure  it  would  be  easier  to  bear 
my  own  grief!  What  would  St.  Mary's  look  like?  How  could  I  ever 
stand  it,  to  meet  so  many  strangers?  Oh!  if  I  were  only  at  home,  I 
would  never  leave  it,  no  never! 

Some  people  across  the  aisle,  feeling  sorry  for  me,  tried  to  draw 
me  into  a  conversation,  but  finally  gave  up  in  despair.  How  long  it 
seemed  since  we  left  Aurora!  We  must  be  half  way  to  Galesburg! 

252 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Just  then  the  brakeman  called  out  "Piano!"  Only  at  Piano!  I  was 
sinking  lower  and  lower  into  the  depths  of  despondency. 

The  conductor  came  up  and  took  my  ticket.  He  saw  that  I 
looked  as  though  I  might  be  unhappy,  and  comforted  me  with,  "You're 
rather  late,  ain't  you?"  taking  it  for  granted  that  I  was  going  to  St. 
Mary's !  As  if  I  didn't  know  that  I  was  late !  How  did  he  know  that 
I  was  going  to  St.  Mary's!  Were  all  the  girls  such  woebegone  look- 
ing creatures  as  I  ?  I  had  heard  that  they  were  known  by  their  high 
collars;  but  surely  my  collar  was  not  very  high! 

It  was  no  use  to  try  to  read,  although  the  peanut  man  had  supplied 
me  with  books,  such  as  A  Midnight  Marriage,  Jack  Harkness,  The 
Detective,  etc.,  which  he  assured  me  were  the  latest,  and  of  the 
highest  standard  of  literature.  Homesickness  and  seasickness  com- 
bined, are  almost  more  than  an  ordinary  person  can  well  endure; 
and  I  was  sure  that  I  could  never  live  to  reach  Knoxville. 

As  we  arrived  at  Mendota,  a  gong  was  sounding  from  a  neighbor- 
ing hotel,  and  the  brakeman  called  out  in  sonorous  tones,  that  we 
would  "stop  twenty  minutes  for  refreshments."  A  ragged  man  on 
the  platform  was  grinding  a  national  air  from  a  squeaky  old  organ. 
It  failed  to  awaken  in  me  any  patriotic  feeling.  Even  the  monkey's 
desperate  attempts  to  keep  time  to  the  music,  had  no  interest  for  me. 

Just  then  one  of  my  neighbors  who  had  left  the  train  returned 
with  a  huge  watermelon  in  his  arms.  Presently  he  came  towards  me 
with  a  great  piece,  but  I  was  not  at  all  disposed  to  be  amiable.  He 
should  have  known  better  than  to  offer  me  any!  I  have  forgotten 
what  I  said ;  at  any  rate,  he  went  away  with  his  watermelon,  and  did 
not  deign  even  to  glance  in  my  direction  once  more  during  the  journey. 

At  last  the  train  stopped  at  Galesburg,  and  I  was  actually  alive. 
The  fresh  air  revived  me  somewhat,  and  I  settled  myself  in  the  depot, 
for  I  had  another  hour  of  waiting  before  the  train  left  for  Knoxville. 
I  do  not  know  what  happened  during  that  hour.  I  was  too  miserable 
even  to  think.  I  only  know  that  at  last,  the  train  was  ready  for  Knox- 
ville, and  I  was  again  in  the  cars. 

In  a  few  minutes  I  reached  my  destination,  and  was  met  there  by 
a  gentleman  who  inquired  anxiously  if  I  was  "Miss  A."  I  assured 
him  that  I  was  myself,  and  we  walked  slowly  away  to  St.  Mary's.  I 
shall  never  forget  what  a  pretty  sight  it  was.  The  girls,  most  of 
them  in  white,  were  walking  about  the  grounds;  and  the  beautiful 
building,  with  its  cross-crowned  spire  and  the  stone  Chapel  on 
the  right,  formed  the  background. 

253 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

I  was  warmly  welcomed  by  Dr.  Leffingwell,  who  made  me  feel 
at  home  at  once.  After  a  good  night's  rest,  I  felt  quite  like  myself 
again,  but  shall  never  forget  my  first  trip  to  Knoxville. 

— M.  E.  J.  A.  '88. 

THE  DEATH  OF  MRS.  STONE 

Died,  at  St.  Mary's  School,  Knoxville,  November  22,  1891,  Helen  Frances 
Stone,  Director  of  the  Studio.  May  she  rest  in  peace. 

IT  was  a  solemn  Sunday  morning  that  dawned  upon  St.  Mary's 
School,  when  it  became  known  that  one  so  dearly  loved,  not 
only  by  her  own  pupils,  but  by  all  who  came  in  contact  with  her, 
had  suddenly  been  called  from  their  midst.  The  morning  service  was 
a  memorial,  the  clergy  entering  repeating  the  opening  sentences  of 
the  Burial  Service. 

The  Rector's  sermon  was  singularly  appropriate,  written  as  it 
was  for  the  last  Sunday  of  the  Christian  year,  and  now  emphasized 
by  the  solemn  event  that  had  taken  place. 

The  body  was  taken  to  Hamilton,  New  York,  Mrs.  Stone's  early 
home.  Mrs.  Leffingwell  and  Miss  Dawson  went  with  it  as  far  as 
Chicago,  where  they  resigned  their  charge  to  a  cousin  of  Mrs.  Stone's. 

IN  MEMORIAM 

ONE  came  to  us  when,  bright  and  gay, 
All  nature  smiled  beneath  the  sun ; 
And  now  the  fields  are  brown  and  dun 
She  comes  no  more  henceforth  this  way. 

The  days  were  few;  but  hearts  still  hold 
What  touch  of  years  cannot  efface, 
The  memory  of  a  gentle  grace 

Enshrined  in  woman's  sweetest  mould. 

We  knew  her  to  be  one  of  those 

Whose  lives  are  purified  by  pain ; 

To  whom  the  world  brings  little  gain, 
And  thorns,  perchance,  without  the  rose. 

She  rests  in  peace.  Ah,  happy  soul ! 

The  weary  one  has  gone  to  sleep ; 

And  we  who  linger  must  not  weep 
That  life  for  her  has  reached  its  goal. 

254 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

And  so  we  leave  her — "Dust  to  Dust," 
What  is,  we  know  must  be  the  best. 
Grant  her,  O  Lord,  eternal  rest 

And  light  that  shines  upon  the  just. 

—J.  C.  H. 


ANOTHER  unsightly  landmark  is  gone!  The  old  house  which 
was  nearly  opposite  the  Chapel  has  been  removed  and  the 
lot  on  which  it  stood  has  been  included  in  the  school  garden.  The 
cellar  is  filled  up,  the  ground  is  graded,  the  old  fence  has  been  taken 
away,  and  the  railroad  landscape  is  broadened.  The  ugly  woolen 
mill  is  to  go  next.  The  Rector  has  bought  it,  and  its  days  are  num- 
bered. The  smoke-stack  and  the  boiler  room  are  already  down — some 
of  the  bricks  are  down  in  the  new  well.  Each  year  marks  progress  in 
the  School  and  its  surroundings.  What  a  change,  already,  from  the 
unsightly  place  as  shown  by  a  photograph  taken  twenty  years  ago! 

BISHOP  McLAREN  accepted  the  manager's  invitation  to 
"Patience,"  and  was  welcomed  with  enthusiasm  by  the  rap- 
turous maidens.  It  is  now  several  years  since  his  last  visit,  and  none 
of  the  many  improvements  escaped  his  notice.  The  Bishop  says  that 
St.  Mary's  affords  him  his  only  operatic  entertainments.  While  here 
six  years  ago  he  witnessed  "Pinafore,"  given  in  the  old  building.  It 
is  to  be  hoped  that  six  years  will  not  elapse  before  he  may  be  pre- 
vailed upon  to  be  present  at  another  of  our  operas. 

TWO  beautiful  stained  glass  windows  have  been  presented  to 
the  new  Chapel,  one  in  memory  of  Mary  McCracken  San- 
burn  of  the  Class  of  '71,  and  the  other  in  memory  of  Carrie  Skinner 
Burgh,  who  graduated  in  '81.  They  are  placed  face  to  face,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  chancel.  Mrs.  Sanburn's  was  presented  by  her  hus- 
band, Mr.  Frank  Sanburn.  It  bears  the  inscription,  "Blessed  are  the 
pure  in  heart,"  which  encircles  a  bunch  of  annunciation  lilies.  Mrs. 
Burgh's  window  was  given  by  her  classmates.  It  has  a  central  figure, 
Fra  Angelico's  Angel  of  the  Resurrection.  Both  of  these  windows  are 
rich  in  coloring,  and  add  greatly  to  the  beauty  of  the  Chapel.  They 
are  the  work  of  Messrs.  McCully  and  Miles,  who  made  and  present- 
ed to  St.  Mary's  the  lovely  window  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  in  the 
Library. 


235 


CHAPTER  XIX 

FTER  all  the  candles  were  lighted  and  the 
big  birthday  cake  was  aglow  with  its  nine- 
teen tapers,  the  following  toast  was  offered :; 
"The  Day  we  Celebrate:  the  nineteenth  an- 
niversary of  St.  Mary's  School.  It  brings  bright  skies,, 
and  brighter  hopes."  Miss  Mary  Reynolds  of  the  class, 
of  '87  responded : 

St.  Mary's!  nineteen  years  ago  today  but  a  new-born  infant,  we 
welcome  thy  nineteenth  birthday  with  joy  and  thanksgiving.  Sc* 
many  happy  anniversaries  have  rolled  over  thy  fair  head,  and  each 
returning  one  sees  thee  more  blessed  and  more  perfect  in  thy  young 
beauty  than  before. 

Nineteen  years  ago  today  our  dear  Rector,  with  a  few  helpers* 
founded  St.  Mary's  School  in  the  old  building  known  as  Ewing  HalL 
Before  the  greater  number  of  us  were  born,  or  at  most  were  prattling 
children!  Who  could  have  been  able  to  foretell  that,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  years,  we  should  all  be  gathered  under  its  sheltering  wings, 
studying,  working,  playing;  we,  who  were  then  entirely  engaged  in 
learning  to  walk,  or  to  lisp  our  baby  words?  The  path  of  learning 
we  have  not  found  all  posies.  Indeed  no!  the  stings  and  arrows  of 
outrageously  hard  examinations,  ignominious  tasks,  girlish  quarrels 
and  grievances,  sieges  with  our  "social  page,"  have  been  felt  sorely 
at  times;  but  now,  as  we  are  about  to  say  goodbye  forever  to  our 
dear,  dear  home,  these  seem  as  nothing  to  the  great  benefits  which 
we  have  received. 

Anniversary  Day !  It  is,  to  St.  Mary's  girls,  a  synonym  for  a  merry 
holiday. 

This  day  is  called  the  feast  of  Anniversary. 
She  that  outlives  this  day  sans  indigestion, 

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EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Will  stand  a  tip-toe  when  this  day  is  named, 
And  rouse  her  at  the  name  of  "birthday  cake." 
She  that  shall  outlive  this  day  and  see  old  age, 
Will  yearly  on  the  vigil,  pause  and  think, 
Tomorrow  is  St.  Mary's  birthday  feast. 

"The  Ante-Igneous  Period  from  a  Post-Igneous 
Point  of  View,"  was  responded  to  by  Miss  Imogen 
Elliot  of '87: 

"The  Ante-Igneous  Period!"  What  visions  flit  across  my  mental 
horizon  at  those  words !  To  begin  with :  from  personal  observation,  I 
know  of  but  two  things  that  really  belong  to  that  time,  namely,  the 
old  hitching  post  and  "Printer."  We  never  see  the  old  post  and  think 
of  those  days  of  "Auld  lang  syne,"  but  we  see  the  aesthetic,  clay-color- 
ed steed,  patiently  waiting  at  the  post.  And  the  rooms  in  old  St. 
Mary's!  Were  the  names  indicative  of  the  inmates?  "The  Bee  Hive" 
—ah,  what  studious,  exemplary  girls  dwelt  there !  "The  Dark  Room," 
what  deeds  of  horror  could  have  been  committed  there!  "Steamboat," 
I  wonder  what  induced  the  dwellers  to  give  it  that  name  ?  And  then 
the  boxes  they  had  in  those  days !  They  came  by  dozens,  by  hundreds. 
Those  were  the  days  that  inspired  the  song  of  "Have-a-box-a": — 

"Should  you  ask  whence  come  the  boxes, 
Boxes  small  and  boxes  mighty, 
Whence  they  come  with  goodies  laden, 
Come  with  odors  from  the  kitchen, 
Come  with  odors  appetizing; 
I  should  answer,  I  should  tell  you: 
Many  doting  home  folks  sent  them. 
Come  they  from  the  town  Keokuk, 
Come  they  from  the  village  Quincy, 
From  the  far-off  Mormon  country 
Where  the  people  are  much  married; 
Down  from  Bunker  Hill  they  tumble, 
From  Missouri  and  Iowa 
And  the  village  of  Chicago! 
Mothers  cried,  Oh,  have-a-box-a! 
Daughters  pleaded  for  a-box-a. 
So  they  came  in  wondrous  numbers, 
Laden  all  with  many  goodies." 

257 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 

And  there  were  young  men  before  the  fire,  "stacks  of  them" ;  but 
when  further  questioned,  my  informer  modified  her  statement,  say- 
ing, "Only  one,  but  he  was  a  host  in  himself." 

Before  the  fire,  they  had  torch  light  processions;  before  the  fire, 
they  had  operas,  in  which  Miss  Hitchcock  and  Miss  Francis  "did 
themselves  proud";  before  the  fire,  they  had  weddings.  Yes,  even  in 
the  faculty!  Why,  ah,  why,  have  they  given  them  up?  Can  it  be 
that  Barkis  is  no  longer  willing?  Those  were  the  days  of  affluence; 
the  days  of  Mrs.  Rudd's  cameos  and  real  lace;  the  days  when  the 
Queen  took  the  Palladium;  the  days  when  Gunther  sent  St.  Mary's 
a  box  of  candy  every  week;  the  days  of  (and  thereby  hangs  a  tale) 
the  days  of  Miss  Hitchcock's  Easter  bonnet! 

"The  Fire  Brigade :  the  well  beloved  three  score  and 
three  who  came  back  after  the  fire,  and  cheerfully  en- 
dured the  inconveniences  of  the  never-to-be  forgotten 
winter  at  St.  Ansgari;  on  Alma  Mater's  bede-roll 
worthy  to  be  fyled."  Response  by  one  of  them,  Miss 
Christiana  Burgess,  Class  of  '85. 

We  are  looking  back  more  than  four  years.  We  had  lost  books, 
clothing,  ornaments,  keepsakes;  two  were  suffering  distressing  in- 
juries with  no  prospects  of  speedy  relief.  Heaviness  endured  but  a 
little  while.  He  who  had  builded  gazed  upon  the  ruins,  then  turned 
and  spoke  with  a  courage  which  created  hope.  That  St.  Mary's  was 
not  to  be  disbanded,  was  a  wonder;  that  it  was  to  be  rebuilt,  was  a 
greater  marvel ;  its  career  was  to  be  stayed  but  a  few  days.  Who  could 
credit  the  reopening  at  St.  Ansgari,  its  enlargement  and  its  occu- 
pation by  thankful  and  happy  students  ?  They  were  prepared  to  accept 
hardships,  if  but  the  school  might  be  continued ;  and  lo !  comforts  and 
conveniences !  The  quarters  were  snug  indeed,  but  very  homelike.  "A 
feline  could  not  be  oscillated,"  in  some  of  the  rooms,  but  fortunately 
no  one  wanted  to  oscillate  a  feline.  All  the  goods  the  fire  had  left 
found  "ample  room  and  verge  enough";  and  the  whirl  of  the  happy 
girl  had  a  fair  sweep. 

After  nine  months,  out  of  the  contracted  walls  of  the  college 
and  Annex,  as  from  the  confinement  of  the  Chrysalis,  burst  the  new 
St.  Mary's.  A  winged  creation  went  out  to  a  higher  life  than  before. 
This  it  is  on  which  we  are  looking  and  wondering  today. 

We  of  the  "Fire  Brigade"  ask  our  beloved  Rector  to  accept  our 

258 


T3 

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EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

hearts'  gratitude.  If  he  will  look  upon  us  as  the  "old  guard,"  we  shall 
be  indeed  honored.  We  shall  try  to  come  up  to  the  expectation  of 
this  title.  For  the  future  we  have  nothing  but  cheerful  confidence.  If 
a  time  of  imminent  danger  to  St.  Mary's  should  arise,  and  her  life, 
or  her  well-earned  reputation  be  in  peril,  we  pledge  ourselves  to  be 
ready  like  the  old  guard  at  Waterloo,  to  spring  forward  into  the 
valley  and  to  do  our  best  to  hold  St.  Mary's  in  her  acquired  place 
at  the  head  of  Liberal  and  Christian  education  in  these  Western 
states. 

"The  Faculty"  was  responded  to  very  happily  by  the 
Chaplain,  Rev.  Dr.  Rudd;  after  which  Bishop  Burgess, 
in  his  most  delightful  manner,  spoke  at  length  of  the 
past  achievements  and  future  prospects  of  the  school. 
Frequent  applause  interrupted  both  these  speakers. 
All  stood  while  the  following  was  read : 

"The  Memory  of  the  Hon.  James  Knox;  a  friend  in  need,  he 
was  a  friend  indeed.  Though  not  a  Churchman,  he  did  more  than  all 
Churchmen  by  gifts  to  build  and  rebuild  St.  Mary's.  Long  after 
his  name  is  erased  by  time  from  the  Corner-Stone,  it  will  be  cherished 
by  grateful  souls,  and  he  will  be  remembered  as  the  first  great  benefac- 
tor of  St.  Mary's  School." 


THE  NEW  OBSERVATORY 

Lo,  the  small  stars  above  the  silver  wave, 
Come  wandering  up  the  sky! 

AND  lo,  too,  at  St.  Mary's,  a  new  Observatory!  with  a  splendid 
telescope,  by  means  of  which  these  small,  small  stars,  as  well 
as  glowing  sun  and  wandering  planet,  together  with  all  the  heavenly 
host,  can  be  accurately  watched  and  noted.  Ample  in  its  proportions, 
admirably  arranged,  and  conveniently  located,  on  the  corner,  just 
over  the  way,  southwest  of  the  school  building,  it  stands  pre-eminent 
as  the  great  improvement  of  1888. 

Long  has  it  been  desired,  and  many  an  earlier  class,  as  it  wandered 
beneath  the  silver  stars  with  cold  feet  and  bedewed  wraps,  has  wished 
that  it  might  be  completed  in  their  day  and  generation.  Yet  the 
school  has  not  been  without  its  telescope  hitherto,   for  this  is  the 

259 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

third  instrument  that  we  have  had;  the  others,  however,  have  all 
been  of  a  portable  nature.  The  last  one,  four  inches  in  aperture,  was 
thought  to  be  a  great  possession ;  but  now  we  have  risen  to  the  dignity 
of  a  six-inch  glass  and  a  permanent  building  for  its  convenient  use 
and  protection. 

The  new  telescope,  for  its  size,  is  the  very  best  that  can  be  had,  the 
lens  being  made  by  Alvan  Clark  &  Sons,  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  who 
are  acknowledged  to  be  the  best  makers  of  telescopic  lenses  in  the 
world.  It  is  mounted  equatorially  with  polar  and  declination  axes; 
has  silver  circles,  slow  motion  driving  clock,  and  all  the  appliances 
that  science  has  devised  for  the  proper  furnishing  of  such  a  glass.  It 
stands  firmly  fixed  upon  an  iron  pillar,  which,  in  turn,  rests  upon 
a  tower  of  substantial  masonry  extending  several  feet  down  into  the 
solid  earth. 

A  proper  housing  for  this  valuable  possession  is  the  Observatory. 
Made  of  brick  and  stone,  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  with  a  height 
sufficient  to  give  an  ample  horizon;  the  sliding  dome  moves  about  its 
track  with  a  slight  pressure.  But  this  is  not  all;  for  attached  to 
the  main  building  is  a  room,  with  another  pier  solidly  planted,  upon 
which  is  soon  to  be  placed  a  transit  instrument.  The  lens  is  already 
in  hand,  having  been  purchased  in  Paris  this  last  summer,  by  our 
wandering  astronomer. 

Having  so  large  an  instrument,  St.  Mary's  Observatory  is  to  be 
registered  at  Washington;  and  who  knows  how  soon,  among  her 
pupils,  will  be  found  a  second  Miss  Mitchell,  whose  conquests  in  the 
starry  realm  shall  bring  fame  both  to  herself  and  her  Alma  Mater! 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  CENTENNIALS 

IN  the  rejoicings  and  celebrations  of  this  day  all  over  the  land, 
St.  Mary's  was  not  a  step  behind.  Miss  Hitchcock,  with  her  usual 
enthusiasm,  had  arranged  an  attractive  programme,  and  for  many 
days  beforehand  was  busy  drilling  the  school  in  patriotic  songs  and 
other  exercises  for  the  occasion. 

The  religious  service  in  the  Chapel  was  conducted  at  nine  o'clock, 
being  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  words  used  at  the  service  which  the 
President  attended  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  one  hundred  years  ago.  The 
Rector  made  an  address  in  which  the  grand  principles  of  the  nation's 
life  and  prosperity  were  set  forth ;  and  he  was  followed  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Delafield,  of  Chicago,  who  was  on  a  visit  to  his  daughter  in  the 

260 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

school.  At  the  close  of  this  service,  all  repaired  to  the  Study  Hall, 
where  the  following  literary  exercises  took  place : 

THE  INAUGURATION  OF  WASHINGTON 

Celebration,  April  30,   1889 

Processional  Chorus — Columbia,  the  Gem  of  the  Ocean. 

Essay — The  Last  of  the  Centennials.  By  Miss  Nellie  Tobin. 

Music — Hail   Columbia,   Happy  Land. 

Essay — The  Day  We  Celebrate.  By  Miss  Louise  McFarlane. 

Music — Sound,  Sound,  the  Trump  of  Fame. 

Recitation — Carmen  Bellicosum.  By  Master  Harold  H.  Rudd. 

Music — Quartette.  Our  Native  Land.  Peace  be  to  Thee.   Misses   Johnson, 

Phelps,  Lloyd,  Allen. 
Recitation — Revolutionary  Tea.   The   Misses   Hortense   Leffingwell,   Maude 

Neely,  Carrie  Darling,  Ellen  Dermont. 
Music — Yankee  Doodle. 

Essay — Our  French  Allies.  By  Miss  Frances  Wheeler. 
Chorus— The  Marseillaise.  By  The  Club  Chantant. 
Essay — Leaves    from    My    Great-Grandmother's    Diary.    By    Miss    Marion 

Wiggin. 
Recitation — The  Minuet.  By  Gertrude  Leffingwell. 
Essay — Our  Flag.  By  Miss  Eunice  Phelps. 
Music — The  Star-Spangled  Banner. 

Just  one  hundred  years  ago  today,  at  Federal  Hall,  in  New  York, 
George  Washington  was  inaugurated  the  first  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  took  the  oath  to  support  the  Constitution.  Time  has 
proved  that  no  more  able  man  could  have  been  chosen  as  ruler  than 
he  who  was  "first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen." 

"Washington's  a  watch-word,  such  as  ne'er 
Shall  sink  while  there's  an  echo  in  the  air." 

Still  we  hail  him  with  rejoicing,  as  the  Father  of  our  country ;  and 
his  great  name  shall  ever  "ring  through  the  world  with  loud  ap- 
plause." Today,  as  we  celebrate  that  event,  may  every  spark  of 
patriotism  that  is  slumbering  in  the  breast  of  man,  woman,  and 
child,  be  awakened,  and  find  vent  in  our  nation's  songs. 

Let  the  church  bells  ring  out,  calling  a  grateful  people  to  praise 
the  Power  that  has  made  and  preserved  us  a  nation.  Let  us  render 
thanks  for  the  blessings  of  a  hundred  years,  and  ask  grace  for  time 
to  come.  — Nellie  W.  Tobin,  '90. 


261 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
A  CHRISTMAS  TREE 

EARLY  in  the  holidays,  it  was  decided  by  the  girls  and  teachers 
who  remained,  that  a  Christmas  tree  should  be  given  for  our 
small  neighbors,  some  of  whom  Santa  Claus  had  forgotten  this  year. 
Accordingly  as  the  appointed  time  drew  near,  great  were  the  prepara- 
tions going  on.  Here  might  be  seen  a  group  of  maidens,  busily 
engaged  in  dressing  dolls,  crocheting  hoods,  and  making  little  aprons. 
There,  others  were  filling  bright  colored  bags  with  bonbons  and 
nuts,  stringing  pop-corn  and  oranges.  The  shops  were  visited  for  toys, 
books,  clothing,  and  candles. 

When  all  was  ready,  the  bob-sled  was  sent  around  to  gather  up 
the  little  children.  And  what  a  jumble  of  them  there  was!  Small  babies 
in  long  dresses,  little  chaps  of  four  years  in  short  jackets  and  long 
trousers,  girls  and  boys  of  all  ages.  There  were,  in  all,  thirty-five. 

As  a  happy  prelude  to  the  Christmas  tree,  the  little  ones  were 
marshaled  into  the  dining-hall,  where  the  "inner  child"  was  thorough- 
ly satisfied.  They  were  then  conducted  to  the  Library ;  and  when  the 
doors  were  thrown  open,  there  stood  the  Christmas  tree,  all  agleam 
with  light  from  the  many  tapers,  and  glistening  with  ornaments.  Then 
what  exclamations  of  surprise,  delight,  and  wonder  burst  from  the 
children !  There  they  stood  with  faces  beaming  with  joy  or  timid  with 
bewildered  awe.  Under  the  tree  stood  Santa  Claus,  clothed  all  in 
fur  from  his  head  to  his  foot,  distributing  gifts  from  his  wealth  of 
beautiful  things. 

When  all  was  over,  the  little  folks  were  carefully  bundled  up  and 
packed  into  the  sleigh.  As  the  sound  of  the  sleigh-bells  died  away,  I 
am  sure  we  all  realized  the  blessedness  of  giving  to  those  less  favored 
than  ourselves. 

HOW  WE  SAW  THE  PRESIDENT 

ON  Wednesday  morning,  October  8th,  an  announcement  was 
made  that  President  Harrison  would  pass  through  Knoxville 
on  his  way  to  Galesburg,  where  he  expected  to  meet  the  soldiers  of 
his  old  brigade.  Dr.  Leffingwell  ascertained  the  time  of  his  coming, 
and  tried  to  telegraph  the  compliments  of  the  school  to  him,  hoping 
that  he  might  stop  and  address  a  few  words  to  us ;  but  the  wires  were 
so  occupied  that  it  was  impossible.  About  9:30  the  girls  and  faculty 
were  assembled  at  "St.  Mary's  Crossing"  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the 
train.  Soon  our  patience  was  rewarded  by  the  appearance  of  the  loco- 

262 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

motive  decorated  with  the  golden  eagle  and  with  many  flags.  As  it 
approached  its  speed  slackened,  and  there  in  the  cab  of  the  engine  we 
beheld  the  President,  with  raised  hat  in  one  hand,  the  other  extended 
towards  us,  and  his  kind  face  wreathed  in  smiles,  to  show  his  ap- 
preciation of  our  enthusiastic  welcome. 

This  is  how  many  of  us  saw  for  the  first  time  a  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  by  these,  the  day  will  long  be  remembered 
as  an  eventful  one.  In  honor  of  the  occasion,  the  flag  was  raised 
at  St.  Mary's  and  could  be  seen  floating  in  the  breeze,  waving  a 
welcome  to  the  leader  of  our  glorious  land.  There  is  one  incident 
which  must  not  be  overlooked.  A  number  of  pins  and  pennies  were 
laid  on  the  track  to  be  passed  over  by  the  wheels  of  "Caesar's  chariot," 
and  kept  as  souvenirs  of  the  occasion.  Some  of  the  girls  declared 
that  the  handkerchiefs  waved  at  the  President  should  never  be 
used  again. 

THE  CLOSE  OF  SCHOOL 

BLESSINGS  brighten  as  they  take  their  flight."  Now  that  va- 
cation is  a  reality,  the  pleasant  phases  of  our  school  life  seem 
doubly  attractive;  while  the  duties,  which  we  thought  at  times  to  be 
irksome,  become  rare  privileges.  The  French  pupil,  in  a  really  sorrow- 
ful tone,  says  the  last  of  les  verbes  reflechir,  or  irreguliers.  The  Ger- 
man scholar,  with  woeful  look,  lingers  o'er  her  final  regelmassige  and 
unregelmassige  zeitworter.  The  art  pupil  says  with  misty  eyes,  "Our 
last  lesson  in  perspective."  The  student  of  harmony  represses  a  dis- 
cordant sigh  as  she  labors  with  the  last  of  her  "covered  fifths"  and 
"octaves."  Even  the  Latin  scholar  has  something  like  a  feeling  of 
tenderness  for  her  "prose  composition."  The  senior-middle  lovingly 
clasps  her  "Science  of  Rhetoric,"  as  she  realizes  that  a  parting  is  at 
hand.  The  senior  gives  a  loving  pat  to  her  geological  chart,  as  she 
learns  the  last  of  the  formidable  catalogue  of  names. 

But  one  and  all  are  loath  to  leave  the  bright  and  cheery  buildings, 
the  grounds  so  picturesque,  and  the  Chapel,  hallowed  by  a  throng  of 
sacred  memories.  It  is  not  the  sketchers  only,  who  love  to  watch  the 
play  of  the  sparkling  fountain,  or  the  varying  shadows  of  the  ivy- 
mantled  walls.  It  is  not  alone  the  artistic  taste,  which  appreciates  the 
soft  hue  of  the  fresh  spring  grass  or  the  beds  of  fragrant  roses  border- 
ing the  walks  on  either  side.  We  all,  with  uniform  consent,  declare 
that  St.  Mary's  in  June  is  one  of  the  prettiest  spots  that  memory  can 

263 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

find.  But  the  parting  with  friends  is  the  greatest  trial  attending  the 
close  of  school.  The  "good-byes'*  are  really  most  touching. 

Such  is  the  tone  of  the  last  days  of  school.  If  this  contradicts  the 
tradition  that  study  is  the  school  girl's  bugbear,  and  vacation  is  her 
clover,  it  must  follow  that  St.  Mary's  is  singularly  blessed  in  the 
loyalty  of  her  children.  — M.  E.  P.,  '89. 

TENNIS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 

UPON  the  lawn  I  sit  alone, 
Until  the  bell  with  mellow  tone 
Calls  forth  the  girls  for  exercise, 
Which  reddens  cheeks  and  brightens  eyes. 
All  hasten  toward  the  tennis  ground, 
With  hearts  light  as  the  balls  they  bound, 
The  games  proceed  with  merry  sport ; 
While  my  eyes  seek  the  nearest  court, 
Where  stands  a  girl  with  graceful  pose 
Her  fair  face  flushing  like  the  rose. 
With  head  erect  and  eyes  intent, 
Her  whole  heart  on  the  game  is  bent. 
A  large  white  hat,  a  jaunty  thing, 
Rests  on  the  sunny  curls  that  cling 
To  thoughtful  brow  with  simple  grace, 
Framing  with  light  a  gentle  face. 
And,  as  with  airy  tread  she  bounds 
Returning  balls  with  whizzing  sounds, 
Her  face  shows  forth  the  inner  grace 
Like  precious  jewel  unencased. 
Her  dress  is  tasteful,  neat  and  plain, 
Yet  fashion  she  does  not  disdain. 
Her  slender  hands  that  love  so  much 
To  make  sweet  tones  with  gentle  touch, 
Are  ever  quick  to  sooth  and  pet 
All  homesick  girls  with  lashes  wet, 
Her  kindness,  sympathy,  and  love, 
Her  nature  sweet,  and  far  above 
A  slurring  word  or  sneering  smile, 
Are  all  expressed  in  plainest  style, 
By  dark  brown  eyes  and  curving  lips, 
Where  truthfulness  so  firmly  sits. 
All  these  make  up  a  priceless  pearl, 
A  tender,  pure,  and  charming  girl. 
-I.  C,  '90 

264 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

ONE  of  our  Missionaries  in  Shanghai,  writing  of  our  scholarship 
in  St.  Mary's  Hall,  says:  "Siam-Mae  Wong  is  as  bright  as 
ever  in  her  studies,  sewing,  etc.  She  is  learning  also  a  little  English 
and  can  say  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Creed  in  English.  With  others 
she  sang  some  hymns  at  the  examination."  Our  hearts  go  out  to  that 
little  Chinese  girl,  lisping  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  language  which  is 
carrying  the  Gospel  to  all  lands.  It  is  to  the  women  of  the  heathen 
nations  that  this  Gospel  comes  with  especial  benediction.  That  timid 
maiden  singing  Christian  hymns  in  far-off  China  is  a  representative 
of  millions  of  dear  girls  who  are  longing  for  a  better  life  than  that  to 
which  the  degrading  traditions  of  their  fathers  have  doomed  them. 
To  help  one  such  gentle  soul  to  reach  that  higher  life  is  surely  a 
blessed  work  for  which  we  may  be  glad  to  make  some  sacrifice. 

IMPROVEMENTS  never  stop  at  St.  Mary's.  Workmen  are 
busy  here  now,  masons  and  carpenters.  A  northeast  wing  is  in 
process  of  erection,  not,  however,  for  the  purpose  of  accommodating 
more  pupils,  but  of  increasing  the  facilities  of  the  work.  The  studio 
is  to  be  the  especial  gainer,  being  thus  doubled  in  size,  a  much  needed 
improvement,  as  this  year,  1893,  it  has  been  no  easy  matter  to  thread 
one's  way  thro'  the  thicket  of  easels. 

A  handsome  porch  and  steps  with  ornamental  iron  railing  con- 
nects the  east  door  with  the  cloister.  The  cottage  east  of  the  Chapel 
has  been  removed,  and  this  change  opens  up  a  lovely  view. 

Poles  are  already  in  place  for  the  electric  lights  that  are  to 
illuminate  the  city,  and  there  are  to  be  lights  on  each  front  corner 
of  St.  Mary's  grounds.  The  grounds,  by  the  way,  with  the  well- 
kept  lawns,  flowering  shrubs,  and  beautiful  shade  trees,  were  never 
more  attractive  than  now.  It  is  difficult  to  realize  the  fact  that  when 
Dr.  Leffingwell  came  here  twenty-five  years  ago,  not  a  solitary  shrub 
existed  where  is  now  such  a  wealth  of  foliage. 

TAP  lightly  at  the  door  of  the  Senior  Study  any  evening  during 
study-hour;  enter,  and  you  will  find  its  occupants  deeply  en- 
grossed with  their  various  duties;  but  merely  mention  the  fact  that 
there  are  but  three  more  weeks  of  this  dear  school-life  at  St.  Mary's 
when,  Presto !  the  golden-haired  girl  in  the  corner  will  melt  into  tears ! 
The  black-haired  Mary,  who  always  cries  when  anybody  else  does, 
quickly  follows  suit!  The  Mary  with  blue  eyes,  drops  them  to  the 
floor!  The  Mary  who  dotes  on  her  art  album,  grabs  frantically  for 

265 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

her  handkerchief!  The  Mary  who  sighs  over  her  final  vowels  in 
Latin,  desperately  strives  to  drive  away  the  dreadful  lump  from  her 
throat,  as  she  thinks  of  her  final  departure!  The  other  Mary  sobs! 
The  girl  who  can  never  keep  a  pen,  is  pensive!  The  girl  with  the 
cousins  hides  her  face  in  her  apron!  The  two  girls  who  play  the 
banjo  are  melancholy;  while  the  two  hard-hearted  wretches  who 
always  laugh  when  other  people  cry,  manage  to  assume  a  lugubrious 
smile,  the  sad  smile  that  haunts  me  still. 

This  is  not  one  bit  overdrawn.  A  more  doleful  spectacle  would 
be  hard  to  find,  than  the  Class  of  '88,  when  dreaming  of  leaving  St. 
Mary's. 

SOME  weeks  ago  we  had  a  pleasant  visit  from  the  Rev.  C.  R. 
Hodge,  whom  we  might  almost  name  as  the  sweet  singer  of 
our  Province.  Certain  it  is,  that  none  have  written  sweeter  tunes  for 
the  hymnody  of  the  Church.  We  have  before  us  a  remarkable  collec- 
tion of  his  composition  adapted  to  the  "Seven  Last  Words,"  the  hymns 
for  which  were  written  by  Mr.  Egbert  Phelps,  brother  of  our  late 
Minister  to  England,  and  uncle  to  one  of  St.  Mary's  girls.  Mr. 
Hodge,  during  his  visit,  gave  us  two  lectures  on  vocal  expression, 
illustrating  them  by  songs  of  his  own  composition.  It  was  a  rare 
treat.  The  girls  sang  at  Evensong  one  of  Mr.  Hodge's  hymns,  written 
and  named  for  the  School,  and  were  pleased  and  proud  to  have  his 
commendation. 

ONE  of  the  annual  Easter  gifts  to  St.  Mary's  Chapel  is  a 
generous  box  of  beautiful  St.  Mary's  lilies,  from  Hortense  Coul- 
ter, '8 1.  No  matter  where  she  may  happen  to  be,  the  flowers  are  sure 
to  come.  Last  year  she  was  in  Egypt  about  Easter  time,  and  this 
year  in  some  other  distant  land;  but  St.  Mary's  and  the  altar  were 
not  forgotten.  Among  the  Easter  remembrances  received  this  year, 
was  also  a  dainty  and  beautiful  booklet,  She  Saw  the  Risen  Lord.  It 
was  sent  with  the  "compliments  of  the  author,"  Mary  Lanning 
Bailey,  Class  of  '76.  Mrs.  Bailey's  home  is  now  in  Parkland,  Ky. 

THE  purchase  of  the  Hellman  property  gives  Dr.  Leffingwell 
full  possession  of  the  four  blocks  facing  the  school  and  cottages 
on  St.  Mary's  Avenue.  The  house  on  the  corner  has  already  traveled 
to  other  quarters.  This  is  the  eighth  that  the  Doctor  has  bought  and 
moved  away.  It  is  the  last  obstruction  to  the  outlook  in  front  of  St. 

266 


o 
U 


4> 
O 

c 
2 

c 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Mary's.  The  fence  is  gone,  the  street  is  graded,  and  nowhere  is  there 
a  prettier  or  more  attractive  bit  of  driving  than  by  the  beautiful 
grounds  of  St.  Mary's.  — Knox  Republican. 

THE  gift  of  two  seven-branched  candlesticks  for  our  altar  was 
from  Mr.  Robert  Pilcher  of  Louisville,  in  memory  of  his 
wife  and  child  in  Paradise.  Julia  Derby  will  be  remembered  here, 
as  pupil  and  teacher,  with  tenderest  regard.  Hers  was  one  of  the 
saintly  souls  which  even  in  this  world  seemed  always  to  be  clothed 
in  white.  The  memorials  are  elegant  specimens  of  brass  work,  the 
standards  being  adjustable  so  as  to  hold  the  lights  in  almost  any 
position  desired.  The  inscriptions  are  very  handsomely  engraved. 

THE  beautiful  reading  desk,  gift  of  the  Class  of  Eighty-Three, 
was  placed  in  the  Chapel  and  consecrated  on  the  Feast  of  the 
Annunciation.  The  Rector,  in  accepting  it,  spoke  feelingly  of  the  days 
when  the  class  motto  of  Eighty-Three,  "Bear  Ye  One  Another's 
Burdens,"  had  proved  to  be  a  near  prophecy;  as  before  their  senior 
year  was  over,  there  were  burdens  to  be  borne,  indeed ;  for  it  was  the 
year  of  the  fire,  and  lovingly  and  loyally  did  "Eighty-Three"  stand 
by  their  Alma  Mater  in  that  time  of  trial.  The  Feast  of  the  Annuncia- 
tion is  always  a  high  day  at  St.  Mary's.  The  class  banners  adorn  the 
Chapel;  the  altar,  in  festal  white,  is  fair  and  sweet  with  St.  Mary's 
lilies — the  lilies  of  the  Incarnation.  We  were  glad  that  the  presenta- 
tion of  this  beautiful  gift  of  "Eighty-Three"  should  have  so  pleasant 
and  hallowed  an  association ;  and  so,  we  are  sure,  will  be  its  generous 
and  loving  donors. 

WE  are  glad  to  note  that  the  new  Diplomas  are  in  Latin,  and 
that  this  classical  language  is  hereafter  to  be  a  requirement  of 
the  course.  This  will  not  necessarily  crowd  out  the  modern  languages, 
a  part  of  the  extra  time  required  for  Latin  being  gained  by  placing 
some  of  the  easier  studies  of  the  regular  course  among  the  Preparatory 
Studies.  Latin  has  of  late  years  been  practically  the  rule,  few  having 
graduated  without  two  or  three  years'  training  in  it.  Now  let  every 
undergraduate  understand  that  if  she  would  have  a  parchment  she 
must  learn  to  read  it. 

ON  our  return  to  school  this  year  (1890)  we  were  delighted  to 
find  many  improvements  in  and  around  the  building.   First, 
of  course,  was  the  beautiful  cloister,  and  next,  a  wonderful  electric 

267 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

clock,  which  through  all  the  day  rings  the  bells  that  summon  us  to 
duty.  (Miss  Hitchcock  objects  to  going  to  Chapel  by  electricity!)  In 
the  main  entrance  hall,  we  noticed  that  the  walls  had  been  newly 
frescoed,  and  that  a  soft  Brussells  carpet  was  under  our  feet,  while  at 
the  head  of  the  main  stairway  we  found  an  arch  of  ornamental  grille 
work,  screening  the  "Bower"  from  the  hall.  In  the  center  of  the 
Bower,  and  bathed  in  the  bright  sunshine  from  its  windows,  now 
stands  a  stately  banana  tree,  while  on  either  side  are  blooming  plants 
belonging  to  the  Altar  Guild.  The  library,  too,  was  much  improved; 
a  new  sofa,  a  large  reading  table,  some  easy  chairs  and  rugs,  having 
been  added  to  its  furnishings.  In  the  music  department  we  found 
Miss  Johnson,  rejoicing  over  a  new  parlor  grand  piano,  which  had 
been  assigned  to  her  music  room.  These  are  but  a  few  evidences 
of  the  constant  thoughtfulness  of  Dr.  Leffingwell,  by  which  St. 
Mary's  is  made  so  attractive. 

"PASSED!" 

NO  dreadful  bell  will  ring  at  three, 
No  sorry  seniors  you  will  see 
For  they  are  feeling  very  mighty; 
No  more  Logic — happy  "Ninety," 
No  more  "figure,"  no  more  "mood;" 
Not  e'en  to  "Barbara"  they  allude; 
No  Petitio  Principii. 
No  Camestres,  or  Darii; 
No  deceitful  enthymeme — 
The  cause  of  many  a  sorry  scheme. 
No  middles  undistributed 
As  Caesare  oft  contributed. 
No  more  "sphere,"  no  more  extension, 
No  more  matter  or  intension  ; 
No  dilemmas  or  sorites, 
No  disjunctives  or  Camestres; 
No  equivocated  fallacies, 
No  second  figure  Caesares; 
No  hidden  Amphibology, 
We've  "passed";  and  now — Psychology. 

— M.  B.  P.,  '90. 


268 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

MARY  D.  Reynolds,  '87,  closes  a  most  interesting  letter  about 
her  visit  to  the  Land  of  the  Midnight  Sun  with  this  apprecia- 
tion of  her  preparation  for  travel  by  her  course  at  St.  Mary's. 

I  can't  say  good-bye  without  expressing  to  my  dear  teachers  at  St.  Mary's 
the  renewed  gratitude  I  have  felt  to  them  since  coming  abroad.  I  believe  it 
is  Dr.  Johnson  who  said  "To  bring  home  knowledge  one  must  take  knowl- 
edge with  him,"  and  though  travel  has  a  very  humbling  effect  if  one  did 
perchance  madly  imagine  one  knew  anything  at  all  beforehand,  still  when 
among  the  mountains  and  glaciers  I  have  remembered  so  often  Dr.  Rudd's 
geology  class;  Mrs.  Rudd's  art  class  in  the  galleries  where  I  recognized  old 
friends  she  showed  me  first;  and  Miss  Hitchcock's  English  literature  and 
Shakespeare  classes  in  London,  Stratford,  and  indeed  all  through  England. 
Miss  Bouvet's  French  has  stood  me  in  good  stead  many  a  time,  as  indeed 
everything  else  I  learned  in  the  wise  curriculum  of  St.  Mary's. 

DURING  October,  Dr.  Leffingwell  was  called  to  California  on 
business,  and  on  his  return,  instead  of  the  usual  Friday  eve- 
ning reading,  gave  us  an  interesting  description  of  his  trip. 

A  sad  event  occurred  on  the  return  journey.  The  train  was  de- 
layed at  the  Needles  by  an  accident  to  a  freight  ahead  of  it.  A  young 
fireman  who  had  been  injured  in  the  wreck  was  brought  on  the 
sleeper,  to  be  taken  to  a  hospital  at  Albuquerque,  500  miles  distant. 
Dr.  Leffingwell,  seeing  that  the  poor  man  could  not  live  long,  aided 
the  attendants  in  making  his  last  hours  as  comfortable  as  possible, 
and  over  the  departing  spirit  read  the  commendatory  prayers  of  the 
Church.  In  an  account  of  the  accident,  the  Albuquerque  Democrat 
of  Nov.  3  has  the  following: 

Rev.  Dr.  Leffingwell,  of  St.  Mary's  School,  at  Knoxville,  Illinois,  a  man 
of  considerable  experience  in  the  sick  room,  although  a  total  stranger  to  the 
injured  man,  attended  him  with  a  brother's  care,  and  the  employes  of  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  railroad  will  ever  hold  Dr.  Leffingwell  dear  in  their 
memory,  for  the  kind  attention  shown  their  deceased  brother. 

THE  following  figures  may  serve  to  give  our  readers  some  idea 
of  the  amount  of  work  done  in  the  music  department. 
Number  of  pupils  taking  lessons  on  the  piano,  80 ;  organ,  2 ;  vocal, 
25 ;  violin,  etc.,  7 ;  guitar  and  mandolin,  5 ;  making  in  the  music 
department  119  pupils.  An  orchestra  of  ten  pieces,  six  violins,  cello, 
viola,  cornet,  and  piano,  has  been  formed  and  promises  good  results 
before  the  annual  concert.  The  Franz  Abt  Society  is  in  a  flourishing 
condition,  and  we  anticipate  much  pleasure  from  its  delightful  chorus- 
es. From  the  little  band  of  St.  Mary's  choristers,  Eunice  Phelps, 

269 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Frances  Wheeler,  and  Iva  Woodruff  are  greatly  missed.  Edith  Dela- 
field  presides,  as  before,  at  the  organ,  and  Harold  is  still  crucifer. 

CLASS  DAY  SONG 

MIDST  tall  trees,  in  stately  splendor, 
Robed  in  foliage  green, 
Stands  the  home  of  happy  girlhood, 
Peaceful  and  serene. 

Chorus.  Raise  your  voices,  joyful  maidens, 
Loud  her  praises  tell  I 
Benedicta,  Alma  Mater; 
Hail,  all  hail!  Farewell! 

As  the  vines  in  green  profusion 

To  her  fondly  cling, 
So  do  we;  and  we  shall  ever 

Thankful  praises  sing. 

Loyal  be  your  love,  Alumnae, 
Every  heart  be  true; 
Ave!  Vale!  dear  St.  Mary's, 
Wave  the  white  and  blue ! 

"SWEET  WILLIAM"  COMES  TO  ST.  MARY'S 

SWEET  WILLIAM  has  come"!  So  sped' the  news  through 
hall  and  corridor.  Would  Miss  Bouvet  let  us  have  just  a 
tiny,  tiny  peep  between  the  lids?  And  so  we  fell  in  love  with  Sweet 
William  at  first  sight.  There  was  the  cover  with  a  bunch  of  sweet 
williams  below  the  title;  there  was  a  wreath  of  marguerites  crossed 
by  the  sword  of  St.  Michael;  and  there  was  the  name  of  the  author, 
in  shining  letters,  "Marguerite  Bouvet."  How  proud  we  were,  for 
was  she  not  one  of  us  ? 

We  can  fancy  the  wonder  with  which  some  of  its  admirers  will 
hear  a  St.  Mary's  girl  say:  "Its  author  teaches  me  French  and  how 
to  write  compositions!"  Will  she  add:  "And  keeps  me  after  school 
sometimes?" 

This  is  the  story  of  how  Sweet  William  came  to  St.  Mary's. 
We  bespeak  for  the  young  Norman  the  hearty  welcome  he  deserves 
from  those  to  whom  the  book  is  dedicated:  "The  little  people  of  this 
great  free  land,  blessed  with  Heaven's  most  precious  gifts — Love, 
Light,  and  Liberty."  — H.  M.  H. 

270 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 

ST.  MARY'S  SCHOOL  entered  upon  its  twenty-third  full 
year  in  September,  1890.  As  years  count  in  the  West,  twenty- 
two  is  a  long  time.  Indeed,  it  is  a  large  period  in  the  estimate  of  an 
ordinary  life.  There  are  three  of  the  highest  officers  of  the  School 
at  this  time,  the  Rector,  Principal,  and  Matron,  who  have  served 
during  the  entire  period;  and  another,  Mrs.  Rudd,  has  been  here 
most  of  that  time.  There  is  not  a  pupil  in  the  school  who  was  born 
when  it  was  founded,  while  there  are  some  here  whose  mothers  were 
educated  at  St.  Mary's.  We  hear  of  other  grandchildren  who  will 
enter  soon. 

MRS.  Bottsford  (Mona  Laux)  Los  Angeles,  in  a  pleasant  letter 
to  Dr.  Leffingwell,  says:  "I  have  now  three  little  candidates 
for  St.  Mary's,  the  oldest  of  whom  we  hope  to  send  next  September. 
She  is  looking  forward  eagerly  to  going,  as  I  have  told  her  so  much 
of  my  happy  times  there.  But  was  there  ever  a  St.  Mary's  girl  who 
didn't  enjoy  her  life  in  the  dear  old  school?" 

AN  OLD  custom,  and  a  very  pleasant  one,  has  been  renewed  this 
year,  viz.,  that  of  "Shakespeare  Quoting  Matches."  The 
players  assembling  in  the  bower,  two  are  appointed  to  draw  lots  for 
the  choice  of  sides.  First  choice  is  desired  by  both;  for  would  it  be 
improper  to  say  that  Miss  Hitchcock  is  the  "bone  of  contention"? 
Happy  the  leader  who  secures  her,  and  happier  she,  on  the  other  side, 
who  can  catch  Miss  Hitchcock  in  a  misquotation.  These  matches  are 
most  excellent  divertisement  for  those  who  have  graduated  from  the 
Shakespearean  class,  as  well  as  for  those  who  are  still  filling  their 
minds  with  bits  from  the  works  of  the  "myriad  minded." 


271 


CHAPTER  XX 

HE  severest  test  that  the  manager  of  any  busi- 
ness has  to  meet,  is  the  selection  of  an  execu- 
tive officer.  The  school  rector  has  to  meet 
this  test,  from  time  to  time,  and  he  is  fortu- 
nate who  has  to  meet  it  only  twice  in  fifty  years.  All  who 
knew  St.  Mary's  in  the  Early  Days  know  that  there  was 
no  mistake  in  the  first  selection.  Miss  Hitchcock  en- 
listed for  twenty-five  years  and  served  the  entire  term 
with  notable  success,  retiring  in  good  health  and  high 
honor,  in  1893. 

Of  course  I  was  greatly  concerned  to  find  a  succes- 
sor. This  was  all  the  more  difficult  since  the  school  had 
grown  in  numbers  and  importance;  standards  and 
methods  of  education  were  changing,  while  competi- 
tion had  made  the  conditions  of  school  management 
in  the  Middle  West  more  exacting.  A  kind  Providence 
again  opened  the  way.  Emma  Pease  Howard  accepted 
the  office  and  served  as  Principal  for  a  term  exceeding 
by  one  year  the  long  record  of  her  predecessor.  Miss 
Howard  devoted  herself  to  the  interests  of  the  School, 
increasing  its  efficiency  and  reputation,  and  relieving 
me  of  many  burdens.  I  cannot  adequately  express  my 
appreciation  of  her  service  and  influence  as  Principal 
of  St.  Mary's  School  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  I  quote  from  a  resolution  of  the  Associate 
Alumnae,   1919:  "We  desire  to  express  our  grateful 

272 


Emma  Pease  Howard 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

appreciation  of  Miss  Howard's  truly  remarkable  work 
for  St.  Mary's,  her  admirable  executive  ability,  and  her 
multiform  labors,  in  which  she  has  indeed  abounded." 

Twenty-five  years  may  fairly  be  considered  the  limit 
of  the  Early  Days.  For  the  period  following,  another 
volume  would  be  required. 

But,  we  may  have  at  least  a  glimpse  of  the  School, 
in  its  new  environment.  In  many  respects  the  conditions 
were  greatly  improved  over  those  of  the  earlier  period. 
The  arrangements  for  comfort,  convenience,  recreation, 
and  the  "pursuit  of  knowledge,"  were  almost  ideal.  We 
had  gas,  electricity,  and  steam  heat,  in  place  of  kerosene 
lamps  and  furnaces ;  abundant  bathrooms  and  artesian 
well  water;  a  large  recreation  hall  with  dance-floor;  a 
swimming  pool;  a  well-equipped  gymnasium  and  a 
physical  director;  adequate  laboratory  and  studio; 
music  rooms,  mostly  in  one  group;  no  sleeping  rooms 
above  the  second  floor;  the  beautiful  Chapel  and  con- 
necting cloisters;  domestic  science  training  for  all;  ob- 
servatory with  telescope  and  revolving  dome;  walks 
and  grounds,  gardens  and  parks,  greatly  improved;  a 
suitable  stage  for  entertainments;  a  trolley-car  line  to 
Galesburg.  Most  notable  of  the  improvements  of  the 
Early  Days  was  the  architectural  beauty  of  the  noble 
group  of  buildings,  and  the  charm  of  the  surrounding 
landscape,  with  avenues  of  stately  trees,  and  artistic 
arrangement  of  foliage  and  flowers,  where  formerly 
stood  unsightly  buildings  with  weather-worn  sheds  and 
fences  scattered  about. 

In  the  way  of  scholastic  advantages  also,  great  ad- 
vance had  been  made  during  the  Early  Days  at  St. 
Mary's.  The  course  of  study  had  been  extended,  studios 
and  laboratories  had  been  enlarged  and  more  fully 
equipped,  notable  additions  had  been  made  to  the  fac- 

273 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

ulty.  The  beginning  of  the  Later  Period  found  the  insti- 
tution established  on  a  higher  plane  and  with  a  far 
wider  range  of  activity  than  in  former  years. 

In  no  department  was  this  advance  more  timely  than 
in  the  field  of  Household  Economics.  I  say  "timely," 
for  with  the  rapid  increase  of  higher  education  among 
women,  since  the  founding  of  St.  Mary's,  this  phase 
of  women's  calling,  the  making  of  home,  had  received 
scant  recognition  in  the  colleges.  The  ambition  of 
women  to  keep  up  with  men  in  college  seemed  to 
extend  to  the  post  college  career,  and  vast  numbers  de- 
voted themselves  to  business  and  professions.  In  1870 
there  were  less  than  a  million  women  engaged  in  gainful 
occupation  outside  of  the  family  and  domestic  service; 
in  1920  there  were  over  eight  and  a  half  millions  so 
employed. 

This  is  not  to  argue  against  higher  education  for 
women;  it  does,  however,  seem  to  indicate  that  for  the 
special  and  most  necessary  work  of  women,  adequate 
opportunity  for  preparation  should  be  included  in  the 
new  order.  Nothing  more  deserves  the  highest  and  best 
training  than  the  calling  of  women  as  home  makers,  and 
for  no  other  career  is  a  higher  order  of  intelligence  and 
character  required. 

With  these  and  many  other  less  important  improve- 
ments, the  new  St.  Mary's  and  its  environment  were 
better  beyond  compare  than  those  of  the  Early  Days. 
Yet  we  loved  the  old  school  home  and  the  old  school 
life.  We  seemed  to  be  nearer  to  each  other  in  a  real 
family  than  at  any  later  period.  With  all  the  advan- 
tages and  attractions  of  the  new  St.  Mary's,  our  school 
life  was  never  more  happy  and  harmonious  than  in 
those  Early  Days.  We  were  content  with  what  we  had 
then,  but  could  not  have  been  content  with  it  at  a  later 

274 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

date,  when  the  standard  of  living,  the  domestic  and  so- 
cial conditions  of  the  Middle  West,  had  changed.  Not- 
withstanding its  destruction  by  fire,  St.  Mary's  survived 
the  Early  Days,  restored,  renewed,  and  "up  to  date," 
and  continued  for  another  quarter  century  under  the 
same  management,  progressive  and  prosperous. 

I  wish  the  story  of  the  Later  Days  might  follow, 
but  that  would  perhaps  be  "too  much  of  a  good  thing." 
I  hope  that  this  one  volume  may  not  prove  to  be  "more 
than  enough." 


THE  CHICAGO  REUNION 

IN  response  to  the  invitation  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Leffingwell,  a 
goodly  number  of  the  Alumnae  assembled  in  Chicago,  at  Kins- 
ley's, on  April  13th,  to  celebrate  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of 
the  founding  of  the  School.  With  Mrs.  Leffingwell  at  the  head,  and 
Dr.  Leffingwell  at  the  foot  of  the  table,  and  with  the  old  familiar 
"grace"  sung,  the  luncheon  seemed  a  genuine  bit  of  school  life.  On 
the  walls  were  hung  the  beautiful  class  banners,  while  St.  Mary's 
lilies  in  profusion  adorned  the  room  with  their  beauty,  and  made  it 
fragrant  with  their  perfume. 

At  each  plate  was  a  souvenir  booklet  containing  photographs  of 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Leffingwell  and  Miss  Hitchcock,  the  three  who  founded 
the  School  on  the  13th  of  April,  1868;  views  of  the  old  building  and 
of  the  new,  and  a  lovely  glimpse  of  the  grounds  and  house.  On  the 
cover  appeared  St.  Mary's  lilies,  painted  on  a  ground  of  blue,  the 
school  color. 

An  interesting  feature  of  the  occasion  was  the  alumnae  roll-call 
by  the  Rector;  each  one  present  answering,  of  course,  for  herself, 
while  a  representative  of  each  class  answered  for  the  absent  members. 
In  many  cases,  however,  the  absentee  answered  for  herself  by  letter 
or  wire. 

Telegrams  were  received  from  Mrs.  George  Kretzinger  (Clara 
Wilson,  '70),  the  first  valedictorian,  who  was  in  California;  from 
the  alumnae  now  resident  at  St.  Mary's,  Emily  Seamans,  '84;  Mar- 
guerite  Bouvet,   '85;  Victoria  Cleveland,   '90.   Then   followed  the 

275 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

toasts,  the  responses  to  which  we  would  gladly  reproduce  with  all 
their  wit  and  wisdom. 

So  much  for  the  programme  of  this  memorable  occasion.  We 
shall  leave  "old  girls"  to  imagine  what  we  cannot  reproduce,  the  de- 
lightful side-talks  among  long  separated  schoolmates  and  teachers. 
Some  interesting  statistics  might  have  been  culled  from  the  roll-call, 
such  as  the  number  of  marriages — we  will  not  say  the  appalling 
number,  since  such  things  must  be,  and  need  not  excite  our  special 
wonder.  Here  and  there  a  class  reported  all  its  members  as  "wooed 
and  married  and  a.'  " 

The  reading  of  a  part  of  the  first  valedictory,  the  Farewell  to 
Alma  Mater,  all  standing,  closed  the  exercises  around  the  board.  Mrs. 
LefKngwell  distributed  the  lilies  among  her  guests;  and  bearing  lilies 
in  their  hands,  Alma  Mater's  chosen  flower,  these  wearers  of  St. 
Mary's  Cross  of  Honor  went  forth  into  the  great  city,  some  to  near 
homes,  others  to  take  trains  for  distant  places;  but  all  glad  of  the 
occasion  that  had  brought  them  together,  and  wishing  for  St.  Mary's 
a  future  as  blessed  as  the  past,  a  golden  anniversary  as  bright  as  the 
silver  one  had  been.  — N.  M.  H. 


COLUMBUS  DAY 

OF  course  we  could  not  let  so  great  a  day  as  the  four-hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  America,  pass  unnoticed,  but 
how  to  celebrate  it  was  a  much  mooted  question.  At  last  it  was  de- 
cided that  we  should  have  a  whole  holiday,  an  event  which,  as  Miss 
Hitchcock  says,  occurs  here  about  as  often  as  Columbus  discovers 
America.  So  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-first,  we  awoke  with  the 
happy  knowledge  that  we  were  to  have  a  whole  day  of  leisure.  The 
large  flag  waving  in  the  court,  and  plenty  of  smaller  ones  within 
the  building,  aroused  our  patriotic  feelings,  and  made  us  remember 
that  this  was  a  national  holiday.  To  add  to  the  festive  appearance  of 
the  day,  a  late  dinner  was  served,  and  at  five  o'clock  we  repaired  to  the 
dining  room,  which  had  been  decorated  with  flowers  and  flags.  At 
the  close  of  the  dinner,  appropriate  toasts  were  read  by  Dr.  Leffing- 
well,  and  ably  responded  to  by  several  of  the  girls. 

Later,  the  class  of  '93  received  the  other  members  of  the  family 
at  a  fancy  dress  party  in  the  recreation  hall.  Seldom  have  St.  Mary's 
walls  looked  down  upon  gayer  scenes.  King  Ferdinand  and  Queen 
Isabella  graced  the  hall  in  all  the  splendor  of  velveteen  and  canton 

276 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

flannel  ermine.  The  great  Christopher  himself  was  there,  accompanied 
by  his  wife  and  chaperoned  by  his  mother!  Spanish  duennas  and 
Italian  peasant  girls,  Cavaliers  and  Genoese  signorinas,  thronged  the 
hall.  In  the  intervals  between  the  dances,  noble  dames  and  pretty 
pages,  courtiers  and  adventurers,  sat  over  small  tables  in  corners  of 
the  studio,  and  were  served  by  Italian  maidens  to  that  very  modern 
invention,  ice-cream. 

All  too  soon,  the  tower  bell  rang,  and  reluctantly  we  left  the  gay 
scene,  and  betook  ourselves  to  our  rooms,  there  to  rehearse,  in  dreams, 
the  pleasant  events  of  the  day.  — A.  F.  S.,  '93. 


WASHINGTON'S  ANNIVERSARY,  1892 

THE  morning  exercises  in  the  Study  Hall  consisted  of  patriotic 
songs,  readings,  and  recitations,  and  the  reading  of  a  very 
fine  original  paper,  "Washington  as  we  Know  Him,"  by  Miss  Bur- 
gett/82. 

But  the  crowning  event  of  the  day  was  the  Promenade  Concert 
in  the  evening.  The  spacious  Study  Hall  was  artistically  decorated 
with  the  red,  white,  and  blue;  several  boxes  were  improvised,  one  of 
which  was  reserved  for  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Leffingwell  and  their  guests. 
The  stage  was  magically  transformed  into  a  colonial  parlor,  where 
Miss  Sanford  presided  as  hostess.  The  opening  Grand  March,  by 
nearly  the  whole  school,  was  bewilderingly  pretty  and  unique.  The 
uniform  was  the  Martha  Washington  kerchief  and  cap,  with  powdered 
hair,  while  dresses  of  many  colors  lent  variety  to  the  scene.  With 
minuet  step  and  curtsey,  the  marchers  advanced  up  the  aisles  to  the 
music  of  the  orchestra;  at  first  with  stately  grace,  and  then  with 
quickening  pace,  as  the  familiar  strains  of  Yankee  Doodle  fell  on  the 
ear,  they  wound  in  and  out  among  the  sober  desks  that  had  never 
before  witnessed  such  a  gay  scene.  Then  followed  the  programme, 
during  the  intervals  of  which  ice-cream  was  served  by  St.  Monica's 
Guild. 


277 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
A  SONG  OF  WASHINGTON'S  BIRTHDAY 

Tune — Yankee  Doodle 

A  PRETTY  sight  it  was  to  see 
Our  girls  so  blithe  and  merry, 
When  dawned  the  twenty-second  day 

Of  snowy  February; 
The  stars  and  stripes  they  waved  aloft, 

Their  favorite  tree  was  cherry, 
The  peaceful  thought  was,  all  day  long, 
The  hatchet  we  will  bury. 

The  Study  Hall  proclaimed  the  day, 

Likewise  the  exercises, 
But  'twas  the  eve  that  brought  the  most 

To  please  us  and  surprise  us. 
Bewitching  were  those  powdered  heads, 

The  march  was  very  charming, 
The  costumes  of  the  old-time  days 

Were  really  most  alarming. 

There  is  not  time  to  tell  it  all ; 

But  this  will  quite  suffice  us, 
For  everyone  will  keep  in  mind 

A  holiday's  devices. 
Wave,  wave  the  flag  and  shout  "hurrah !" 

Long  live  our  celebration; 
Honor  to  him  whose  love  and  zeal 

Have  founded  this  great  nation! 

—J.  C.  H. 

ST.  MARY'S  CLUB,  CHICAGO 

ON  February  fourteenth,  a  most  delightful  meeting  of  the  Club 
was  held  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Samuel  W.  Allerton,  Prairie 
Avenue.  Sixteen  enthusiastic  girls  assembled  to  hear  the  reports  of 
Mrs.  Allerton  and  Mrs.  Cass,  who  had  been  appointed  to  find  rooms 
for  the  Club.  The  outlook  was  most  discouraging.  This  was  the 
second  attempt  to  find  suitable  quarters,  and  like  the  first,  it  had 
proved  fruitless.  Rooms  at  all  central,  were  too  expensive;  and  yet  it 
was  felt  most  desirable  that  a  club  room  should  be  established,  which 
should  be  headquarters  for  all  members  resident  and  sojourning  in 
Chicago  during  the  exposition. 

278 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

To  accomplish  this  it  would  be  necesasry  to  have  a  few  hundred 
dollars,  and  it  was  found  that  the  entire  sum  could  be  raised  by  assess- 
ing each  member  a  small  sum  over  her  yearly  dues.  At  first  it  was 
suggested  that  this  money  be  raised  by  giving  entertainments  or  by 
one  of  the  usual  methods  employed  in  such  cases,  but  on  putting  the 
question  to  a  vote  it  was  found  that  all  the  members  present  preferred 
paying  the  small  sum  required,  to  giving  their  time  and  attention  to 
any  outside  enterprise  at  this  busy  season.  The  names  of  a  number 
of  new  candidates  were  then  presented,  voted  on,  and  accepted. 

After  business  was  over,  came  the  chatter;  and  this  running  fire 
of  conversation  was  kept  up  until  the  retreat,  all  feeling  a  pride  in 
the  growing  success  of  St.  Mary's  Club.  A  few  days  after  this,  in 
response  to  an  invitation  from  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer  and  Mrs.  Charles 
Henrotin,  a  meeting  of  the  Presidents  of  the  leading  women's  clubs 
in  Chicago  was  called,  to  discuss  the  entertainment  of  foreign  guests. 

The  St.  Mary's  Club  being  a  member  of  the  Federation  of 
Women's  Clubs,  our  President,  Laura  Hayes,  was  there,  fresh  from 
our  own  meeting  on  the  same  subject,  and  knowing  definitely  what 
St.  Mary's  Club  wished.  All  these  clubs  had  been  as  unfortunate  as 
ours  in  their  search  for  suitable  rooms. 

After  some  plans  proposed  by  members,  Laura  Hayes  suggested 
that  the  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  rent  a  fine  house  in  a  central 
location,  for  the  six  World's  Fair  months,  and  the  rooms  be  divided 
among  the  clubs  according  to  their  membership.  This  would  make  it 
possible  to  throw  all  the  club  rooms  together  and  give  a  few  grand 
entertainments  in  honor  of  distinguished  guests.  The  plan  met  with 
general  favor,  and  was  carried.  Meantime  we  experienced  much 
satisfaction  at  the  prominent  place  our  infant  club  had  taken  among 
the  oldest  and  best  established  clubs  in  Chicago. 

It  is  intended  to  make  our  Club  Room  a  place  where  the  mem- 
bers and  their  friends  can  always  find  a  welcome,  where  writing  con- 
veniences can  be  had,  where  with  magazines  and  journals  one  can 
while  away  the  tedious  hours  of  waiting  for  trains,  and  where  St. 
Mary's  girls  from  different  cities  can  meet  and  renew  old  friendships 
over  a  cup  of  tea.  A  register  will  be  kept,  giving  the  addresses  of  all 
club  members  staying  in  Chicago,  and  time-tables  and  other  sources 
of  information  may  be  had  on  application. 

The  St.  Mary's  Club  has,  for  more  than  a  year,  belonged  to  the 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  and  its  members  will  consequently 
share  the  privileges  of  the  Federation  headquarters  in  the  Woman's 

279 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Building.    Any   member    desiring   a    Federation    badge    (light   blue 
enamel)  can  receive  it  by  sending  fifty  cents  to  the  secretary. 

— Alice  West,  Secretary. 

Later:  The  St.  Mary's  Club  has  engaged  a  room  in  the  beautiful 
Venetian  Building,  and  will  be  "at  home"  on  Monday  afternoons 
during  the  summer.  The  Venetian  Building  is  centrally  located,  being 
just  opposite  the  side  entrance  to  Marshall  Field's,  Washington  St., 
and  this  will  make  it  convenient  for  St.  Mary's  Girls  who  are  visiting 
the  World's  Fair  city.  Ask  for  "St.  Mary's  Club  Room,"  No.  1204. 


FOUNDERS  AND  BENEFACTORS 
(Response  to  a  Toast,  Easter  Monday,  1893,  by  Miss  Hitchcock) 

THE  benefactors  of  St.  Mary's  School!  Do  we  all  know  who 
they  are?  I  think  we  should  be  ready  to  place  at  the  head  of 
the  list,  its  Founder,  who  has  given  first  of  all,  himself.  We  who  have 
been  here  the  longest  know  what  that  means — the  consecration  of 
time,  talents,  strength,  to  a  noble  life  work.  But  we  shall  never  know 
from  our  modest  Rector,  the  sum  total,  nay,  even  the  tithe  of  his 
benefactions  as  the  word  is  commonly  used;  and  we  shall  spare  him 
further  hint  of  even  what  we  do  know. 

Next  to  the  founder's  name,  let  us  place  in  grateful  recognition 
that  of  that  staunch  friend  of  earlier  days,  whose  name  you  read  on 
the  corner-stone  of  the  building,  James  Knox.  He  believed  in  a  future 
for  St.  Mary's,  largely,  I  think,  because  he  believed  in  its  Rector,  and 
we  today  are  enjoying  the  benefits  of  his  bequests,  as  in  the  days  before 
the  fire  the  school  enjoyed  his  living  munificence. 

The  benefactors  of  St.  Mary's  School!  Are  we  likely  to  forget 
the  generous  contributions  for  rebuilding  that  began  to  arrive  after 
the  fire,  even  while  the  embers  were  still  smoking?  Mr.  Newcomb's 
telegram:  "Put  me  down  for  one  thousand  dollars";  Hortense  Coul- 
ter's check  for  five  hundred,  sent  from  Paris;  gifts  from  north,  east, 
south,  west — gifts  smaller  indeed,  but  as  rich  in  love  and  good  will, 
and  in  faith  in  a  future  for  St.  Mary's. 

The  benefactors  of  St.  Mary's  School!  Their  names  might  be 
written  all  over  the  walls  of  the  Chapel  which  their  love  erected. 
Their  names — from  that  of  Susan  Kemper  whose  first  earning  (not 
the  tithe,  but  the  whole,  a  precious  five  dollars)  was  followed  by  Mrs. 

280 


The  Rector 

On  Founders'  Day,  1915 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Bradford's  thousand.  But  time  would  fail  me  to  tell  of  the  good  deeds 
of  those  who  wrought  for  windows  and  organ,  for  altar  and  font; 
until  St.  Mary's  Church  stood  forth  in  all  its  completeness  and  beauty. 
The  benefactors  of  St.  Mary's  School !  Some  of  them  have  entered 
the  rest  of  Paradise.  Them,  too,  we  include  in  our  petitions,  kneeling 
before  the  altar  bright  with  its  vesper  lamps,  itself  a  memorial  of 
much  loving  service. 


TO  ST.  MARY'S 
By  Mrs.  George  W.  Kretzinger  (Clara  Wilson,  '70) 

Read  on  Graduates'  Day,  1893,  the  Close  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Year 

ALONE  and  high  and  desolate, 
In  treeless  grounds, 
Stood  the  old  building  where  our  great 
St.  Mary's  School  began  its  fate, 
Bringing  a  purpose  high  within 
Her  narrow  bounds. 

Disconsolate  we  gazed,  with  homesick  air, 

Upon  the  place — 
That  sad  house  on  the  prairie  bare — 
And  yet  no  dream  and  castle  fair, 
Hold  half  the  charm  our  hearts  found  there 

In  welcoming  grace. 

Swiftly  the  first  weeks  came  and  went, 

And  it  was  home! 
Youth's  restless  spirit  stayed  content 
On  new,  sweet  occupations  bent; 
Gently  the  hours  in  sunshine  fell 

From  heaven's  high  dome. 

St.  Mary's!  Whence  thy  charm?  So  near 

No  other  skies 
Have  ever  ope'd  such  portals  clear, 
Into  the  realms  where  those  made  deal 
And  doubly  dear  by  loss, 
Help  us  to  rise 

281 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

On  All  Saints*  Day!  Nowhere 

Breaks  Easter  morn 
So  all  significantly  fair, 
Bringing  the  soul  on  wings  of  air 
To  realms  beyond  our  slower  thoughts, 

In  hours  forlorn. 


Few  were  our  numbers,  as  we  came 

To  receive  our  meed, 
But  the  voice  shook  that  called  each  name, 
And  each  heart  felt  the  sacred  flame 
That  springs  when  first  we  hear  the  call 

Of  this  world's  need. 


Ah,  Ye!  who  from  her  fairer  halls, 

Go  forth  with  flowers; 
Sweet  are  the  hours  each  spot  recalls; 
Yet  are  these  new  and  glorious  walls 
Not  dearer  to  your  inmost  hearts, 

Than  now  to  ours, 

Who  never  saw  them,  but  who  knew 

The  mother's  heart. 
We  had  the  sunshine  and  the  dew 
Of  her  first  hours;  and  so  we  grew 
To  be  of  her  great  heart  and  life, 

Even  now,  a  part. 

Bright  circle  of  Alumnae  true! 

Right  glad  was  I, 
When  after  many  years — that  flew 
Before  my  heart  the  reckoning  knew — 
I  saw  your  widened  band  and  read 

Your  purpose  high. 

Not  sad  am  I,  but  glad  indeed, 

And  justly  proud. 
The  flying  years  may  swell  their  speed. 
Each  brings  me  undeserved  meed, — 
Sisters  whose  names  and  deeds  the  world 

May  shout  aloud. 

282 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

St.  Mary's!  For  all  years  to  come, 

Our  mother  blest: 
We,  thy  Alumnae,  bend  the  knee 
And  pray  the  heavens  to  spare  to  thee 
Thy  Founder,  and  those  helpers  true, 

Sweet  saints  confessed, 

To  uphold  his  hands ;  long  let  them  stay 

To  be  our  stay! 
Since,  while  they  share  our  earthly  way 
Our  hearts  are  stronger  for  the  fray ; 
Knowing  that  they  still  watch  with  us, 

We  better  pray. 


OLIVE  OGLESBY'S  WEDDING 

IT  was  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  imposing  affairs 
of  the  kind  that  ever  took  place  in  Illinois.  Olive  made  an  ideal 
bride,  robed  in  a  white  gown  of  heavy  silk,  with  train  and  veil.  Her 
ornaments  were  Roman  hyacinths,  and  a  magnificent  diamond  neck- 
lace, a  present  from  the  groom's  parents.  Mrs.  Oglesby  was  a  perfect 
dream  of  beauty  in  her  gown  of  white  satin.  In  the  bridal  party  there 
were  two  maids  of  honor,  six  bridesmaids,  a  best  man,  and  six  ushers. 
Lulu  Roberts  of  '84  was  one  of  the  bridesmaids.  The  marriage  cer- 
emony took  place  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  Springfield,  at  eight  o'clock  in 
the  evening;  Bishop  Seymour  officiated,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  F.  W. 
Taylor,  rector  of  the  parish. 

Just  after  the  ceremony,  as  the  bride  turned  to  leave  the  church, 
she  looked  up  into  her  father's  face  with  an  expression  of  mingled 
love  and  regret;  then,  for  an  instant,  left  her  husband  and  embraced 
her  father.  It  was  an  affecting  scene,  I  assure  you. 

After  the  wedding,  a  magnificent  reception  was  held  at  the  Execu- 
tive Mansion.  The  Governor's  Staff  was  in  attendance,  dressed  in 
full  uniform,  and  the  glistening  regalia  helped  to  make  the  scene 
particularly  brilliant.  At  the  reception  I  met  several  of  St.  Mary's 
patrons  and  pupils.  — A  Guest. 

DURING  the  last  month  the  school  was  favored  by  the  presence 
and  instruction  of  the  Rev.  W.  B.  Morrow,  Mus.  Bac, 
rector  of  St.  John's  parish,  Carlisle,  Pa.,  who  for  many  years  has 
kindly  prepared  and  directed  the  sacred  music  at  St.  Mary's.  Under 

283 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

his  able  and  genial  superintendence  the  school  has  attained  proficiency 
in  the  choral  service,  and  has  become  widely  known  for  its  excellent 
Church  music.  Pupils  who  go  out  from  St.  Mary's  to  parishes  through- 
out the  West  are  helpful  in  extending  a  correct  taste  and  increasing 
interest  in  this  important  element  of  worship.  Nearly  all  the  pupils 
learn  to  sing  in  church,  and  the  acquirement  is  of  great  value  to 
themselves  and  to  others  through  life.  There  are  daily  choral  Matins 
and  Evensong,  and  monthly  choral  Celebrations.  There  is  an  early 
Celebration  on  other  Sundays  without  music.  The  Gregorian  tones, 
arranged  by  Best,  are  used  in  the  psalter,  of  which  one  psalm  is 
sung  each  morning  and  evening. 

FROM  a  Southern  newspaper  we  clip  the  following:  "The 
Ladies'  Tennis  Tournament  is  an  annual  event  of  much  social 
prominence  in  Philadelphia,  and  it  has  just  been  completed  on  the 
beautiful  grounds  of  the  Germantown  Cricket  Club,  under  the  pat- 
ronage of  a  committee  of  twenty  Philadelphian  ladies,  assisted  by 
the  officers  of  the  club.  The  tournament  lasted  five  days,  and  on 
Friday,  Miss  Harriet  Butler,  of  Augusta,  Ga.,  and  Miss  Terry,  of 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  defeated  the  last  of  their  skillful  opponents  and 
have  been  declared  the  champions  of  the  United  States,  in  ladies' 
doubles.  Miss  Butler  (from  St.  Mary's)  had  not  anticipated  entering 
the  tournament,  and  the  fact  that  all  of  the  players  were  in  training 
except  herself,  makes  her  victory  the  more  satisfactory." 

A  DRIVE  past  St.  Mary's  early  these  beautiful  summer  eve- 
nings discloses  an  attractive  sight — vine-clad  buildings,  well- 
kept  lawns,  fountain  playing,  flowers  blooming,  while  life  and  color 
are  given  to  the  scene  by  maidens  here,  there,  and  everywhere.  Some 
may  be  seen  sitting  on  the  porches  and  steps,  reading  or  chatting,  others 
gathered  in  friendly  groups  under  the  shade  of  the  many  trees  which 
beautify  the  grounds;  while  at  the  tennis  courts  the  more  active  enjoy 
a  sprightly  game.  Should  one  happen  to  be  passing  as  the  tower  bell 
rings  the  call  to  Evensong,  he  would  see  a  sudden  change.  Books  are 
promptly  closed,  racquet  and  ball  laid  aside,  while,  seemingly  with 
one  accord,  all  go  their  way  through  the  cloister  into  the  beautiful 
Chapel.  Soon  from  the  open  door  and  windows,  float  the  sweet  sounds 
of  song  and  prayer — a  fitting  close  to  the  daily  life  of  those  fortunate 
enough  to  be  sheltered  there.  — Galesburg  Register. 

284 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 

THE  arrival  of  the  first  grandchild  is  always  an  event  of  live- 
liest interest  in  a  family  circle;  and  the  announcement  of  the 
birth  of  a  granddaughter  to  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Leffingwell  made  no  slight 
stir  at  St.  Mary's,  and  will  be  of  interest  to  the  wider  circle  of  St. 
Mary's  household  of  the  past.  "Alice's  baby!"  I  hear  some  old  girl 
exclaim,  "Why!  I  used  to  borrow  Alice  myself  at  recess,  when  she 
was  a  baby!" 

The  Palladium  which  used  to  record  the  winsome  ways  of  "Baby 
Alice,"  is  quite  ready  to  do  the  same  for  "Alice's  Baby,"  and  now 
offers  congratulation  to  grandparents,  uncles,  and  aunts,  as  well  as 
to  the  happy  parents  of  "Baby  Binkley";  and  when  that  small 
maiden  shall  have  exchanged  her  present  pleasingly  alliterative  title 
for  a  Christian  name,  that  name  shall  be  duly  chronicled ;  and  when 
she  graduates  at  St.  Mary's  in  nineteen  hundred  and  thirteen,  may  we 
all  be  there  to  see! 

IN  November  we  had  a  delightful  visit  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brewer, 
founder  and  Rector  of  St.  Matthew's  School,  San  Mateo, 
California.  Teachers  and  pupils  enjoyed  very  much  Dr.  Brewer's 
account  of  California  and  his  work  there.  He  began  by  describing 
his  life  in  the  early  days  of  California,  together  with  the  events  which 
led  to  the  founding  of  St.  Matthew's,  and  its  growth,  from  this  be- 
ginning to  its  present  flourishing  condition.  He  transported  us  in 
spirit  to  that  wonderful  land  of  flowers  and  sunshine,  and  gave  us 
such  a  graphic  description  of  its  beauties  that  the  fragrance  of  orange 
blossoms  and  roses  seemed  almost  to  pervade  the  room.  Dr.  Brewer 
also  spoke  of  the  desire  he  had  always  had  to  visit  St.  Mary's,  and 
made  us  very  proud  by  saying  that  the  realization  of  his  hopes  had 
more  than  fulfilled  his  expectations. 

ON  the  Third  Sunday  after  Easter,  at  the  early  Celebration,  a 
handsome  Altar  Prayer  Book,  bound  in  red  morocco,  was  pre- 
sented to  the  church.  On  the  cover  is  inscribed  in  letters  of  gold: 

presented  to  st.  mary's  church, 

knoxville,  illinois, 

By  the  Class  of  1893 

in  memory  of  their  classmate 

Lida  Brookings  Bailie. 

285 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

THE  new  members  of  the  "Club-Chantant"  were  late  in  getting 
their  music  books  from  London,  but  from  the  excellence  and 
enthusiasm  since  displayed  by  the  Club,  one  would  think  they  had  been 
practising  all  the  year.  Every  Wednesday  evening  after  study  hour, 
they  met  in  the  Library,  and  the  fresh  young  voices  rang  out  through 
the  house,  sweet  and  clear  in  the  pleasing  airs  arranged  from  Abt, 
Kucken,  Mendelssohn,  Weber,  and  others.  One  or  two  of  the  songs 
are  in  such  bewitching  waltz  movement,  that  occasionally  some  de- 
votee of  Terpsichore,  whose  feet  seemed  irresistibly  set  in  motion, 
would  seize  a  similarly  affected  companion,  and  whirl  her  gracefully 
from  the  singing  circle,  in  rhythmical  gyrations  about  the  room.  When 
a  lot  of  merry  girls  are  singing  songs  they  love,  the  time  passes  all 
too  quickly,  and  the  nine  o'clock  bell  never  found  them  quite  ready 
to  stop ;  all  would  beg  for  at  least  one  verse  of  "Bonne  Nuit"  to  end 
up  with,  and  even  after  the  accompanist  had  left  her  post,  the  sweet 
strains  of  this  good-night  song  still  went  on,  as  the  girls  scattered  to 
the  different  halls,  singing  softly  to  each  other  when  parting,  "Bonne 
Nuit,  Bonne  Nuit!" 


286 


CHAPTER  XXI 

F  WE  had  foreseen  that  April  13,  1893, 
would  mark  the  close  of  a  period  about 
which  a  book  should  be  written,  doubtless 
we  should  have  had  a  special  and  unique 
celebration.  But  the  twenty-fifth  Anniversary  passed 
with  only  the  usual  exercises  and  events.  A  few  years 
later,  however,  occurred  the  Tricennial  Celebration 
(1898)  which  really  belongs  to  the  Early  Days,  and 
is  mostly  related  to  the  School  life  of  that  period.  As  a 
fitting  close  to  this  story  of  "Early  Days  at  St.  Mary's," 
let  us  take  this  brief  report  of  the  Tricennial. 

DURING  Commencement  Week,  1898,  on  Tuesday, 
June  7,  the  Tricennial  Celebration  was  held, 
having  a  large  attendance  of  teachers,  students, 
alumnae,  and  guests.  It  was  a  very  full  day,  a  very  glad 
day,  for  all,  beginning  with  the  Holy  Communion  at 
an  early  hour;  address  by  the  Rector  at  Matins;  An- 
niversary exercises  in  the  Study  Hall  at  two  o'clock; 
Alumnae  meeting  and  reception  at  four  o'clock;  Class 
Day  Exercises  at  five ;  dinner  at  six,  followed  by  Even- 
song, meeting  of  Trustees,  Mr.  Sherwood's  Recital,  and 
Mrs.  LefrmgweH's  Reception. 

At  the  Tricennial  meeting  there  was  a  Roll  Call  of 
classes,  with  responses  in  nearly  every  case  by  some 
member  of  the  class ;  address  for  the  Founders,  by  Mrs. 

287 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Rudd;  address  for  the  Alumnae,  by  Mrs.  Kretzinger 
(Clara  Wilson  '70)  ;  address  for  the  faculty,  by  Miss 
Virginia  Harbert,  '91;  address  for  the  Trustees,  by 
Judge  P.  H.  Sanford  (Trustee  from  1868)  ;  address  for 
St.  Mary's  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rudd,  Chaplain. 

The  responses  to  the  Roll  Call  were  from  points 
as  far  apart  as  Vermont  and  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
Thirteen  states  were  represented  by  the  Alumnae  re- 
sponding. The  meeting  closed  with  a  hearty  singing  by 
the  whole  audience  of  the  following  hymn  written  for 
the  occasion  by  Dr.  Rudd,  "God  bless  St.  Mary's 
School." 

GOD  bless  St.  Mary's  School! 
Guided  by  Christian  rule, 
And  strong  for  Right. 
For  many  years  so  dear 
'Mong  schools  both  far  and  near, 
Since  it  was  founded  here, 
Clear  shines  its  light. 

In  all  the  passing  years, 
One  ruling  hand  appears, 

Of  gentle  force. 
Long  may  he  Rector  be, 
No  clouds  nor  tempests  see, 
Ever  successfully 

Guiding  its  course. 

Almighty  God,  to  Thee, 
Our  praise  perpetually, 

Thankful  we  raise. 
Watch  o'er  our  honored  head, 
By  Thee  forever  led, 
O  Thou,  of  Life  the  Bread 

Keep  him  always ! 


288 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
ADDRESS— FOR  THE  FACULTY 

BY  MISS  VIRGINIA   HARBERT 

HOW  eminently  fitting  it  is  that  we  should  gather  here  today  to 
do  honor  to  our  Alma  Mater,  and  to  bind  more  closely  that 
hallowed  chain  of  associations  that  links  us  to  dear  St.  Mary's!  Old 
St.  Mary's  became  New  St.  Mary's  after  the  fire.  It  is  still  New,  for 
the  spirit  of  progress  ever  preserves  our  Alma  Mater  in  the  bloom  and 
freshness  of  youth.  "Forward"  has  been  the  watchword  from  the  day 
that  this  school  began  its  career. 

Through  the  wise  management  of  the  Rector  and  his  co-laborers, 
St.  Mary's,  unlike  other  Church  schools  with  which  the  most  of  us 
are  familiar,  has  never  been  a  burden  on  the  Church.  Those  who 
are  in  touch  with  Church  work  know  of  the  pleadings  that  are  con- 
stantly being  made  for  the  financial  support  of  our  schools.  St.  Mary's, 
Knoxville,  is  an  example  of  the  results  that  can  be  reached  through 
wise  financiering.  The  ship  has  seen  stormy  days  and  rough  seas, 
but  the  pilot  has  inspired  confidence,  and  we  see  here  today  a  noble 
institution  of  Christian  learning  with  no  debt. 

A  Church  school  should  make  Churchwomen.  That  St.  Mary's 
does,  can  be  testified  by  missionaries  and  rectors  of  parishes  all  over 
this  broad  land.  The  Missionary  Guild  and  the  Altar  Guild  seem  to 
undergraduates  to  be  of  no  life  importance,  but  in  after  years  it  is 
proven  that  there  was  the  good  seed  sown  which  fructified  in  later 
helpfulness.  The  services  of  the  Church,  daily  rendered  in  our  "holy 
chapel  edified,"  endear  the  hearts  of  all  to  Mother  Church.  How 
many  look  back  now  to  those  sweet  services,  the  singing  of  the  Pater 
Noster,  and  the  solemn  chanting  of  the  Miserere!  With  this  memory 
comes  the  picture  of  the  cross  and  altar,  bathed  in  a  flood  of  light  from 
the  setting  sun.  How  those  rays  are  hallowed  as  they  pass  through 
the  beautiful  west  window  representing  the  Annunciation,  the  gift  of 
St.  Mary's  Alumnae!  Again,  as  our  gaze  is  upward  bent,  we  meet 
now  the  beautiful  painting  of  our  Transfigured  Lord.  What  a  sweet 
memorial  it  is!  A  birthday  gift  to  St.  Mary's  placed  there  by  her 
Rector  in  token  of  the  completion  of  thirty  years  of  service. 

In  intellectual  training  the  same  high  ideals  still  actuate  all  of 
the  departments  of  learning.  Year  by  year  the  work  has  become  more 
thoroughly  systematized  and  its  scope  enlarged,  until  now  the  length- 
ening of  the  course  another  year  proves  that  St.  Mary's  has  not  failed 
to  keep  her  place  in  the  front  ranks  of  educational  institutions.  The 

289 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

noble  work  which  our  loved  and  honored  Principal  began  is  being 
ably  continued,  as  you  all  can  see,  by  Miss  Howard. 

In  physical  training  again  we  must  note  the  progress  that  has 
been  made.  From  the  daily  fifteen  minutes*  calisthenic  exercise  we  have 
passed  to  the  well  equipped  gymnasium  with  its  special  instructor  of 
physical  culture.  And  what  a  splendid  record  St.  Mary's  has  made  in 
the  good  health  and  growth  of  its  students,  under  the  watchful  care 
of  Miss  Nichols! 

It  is  indeed  with  pride  that  St.  Mary's  gathers  her  daughters  to- 
gether for  this  Tricennial  Celebration.  These  hundreds  of  bright, 
interested  faces  betoken  the  pleasure  that  is  felt  in  renewing  old  scenes 
and  acquaintances. 

To  you,  dear  Dr.  Leffingwell,  let  me,  in  the  name  of  St.  Mary's 
Alumnae,  who  have  been  privileged  to  know  you  in  that  double  re- 
lation of  pupil  and  co-worker,  extend  a  hearty  congratulation  for  the 
successful  completion  of  St.  Mary's  thirtieth  year. 

How  many  there  are  of  the  wearers  of  St.  Mary's  Cross  of  Honor 
who,  today,  rise  up  and  call  you  blessed !  How  many  there  are,  scat- 
tered over  this  broad  land,  who  can  testify  to  the  noble  and  uplifting 
influence  which,  as  daughters  of  St.  Mary's,  was  thrown  around  their 
path !  How  deeply  do  they  appreciate  the  useful  lessons  learned  from 
your  lips!  A  kind  father,  a  devoted  Rector,  and  one  of  the  world's 
noble  educators,  this  is  the  three-fold  laurel  wreath  we  place  upon 
your  brow. 

ADDRESS— FOR  ST.  MARY'S 

BY  THE  REV.   EDWARD  H.  RUDD,  S.T.D. 

I  AM  put  down  for  an  address  for  St.  Mary's,  but  this  seems  very 
much  like  a  work  of  supererogation,  for  certainly  no  one  can 
look  at  the  long  and  honorable  record  completed  this  day,  without 
acknowledging  at  once  that  St.  Mary's  speaks  for  herself. 

Away  to  the  northward,  a  streamlet  is  flowing, 
Yet,  little  by  little,  more  confidence  showing, 
Becometh  a  river,  great  treasures  bestowing. 

This  wonderful  stream,  so  small  at  its  birth, 
A  river-course  vast,  soon  its  banks  it  is  straining, 
For  thousands  of  miles  the  wide  country  'tis  draining 
Its  impetuous  flow  forever  maintaining, — 

The  Father  of  Waters,  known  round  the  earth. 

290 


The  "Bower' 


The  Gymnasium 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

How  like  is  our  school  to  this  beautiful  river, 

This  stream  from  the  northland,  this  bountiful  giver; 

A  parable  true  in  its  course  I  discover, 

Suggestive  it  is  of  excellent  worth. 
So  small,  the  beginnings  of  this  school  of  learning, 
So  great  was  the  zeal  in  warm  hearts  that  were  burning, 
With  usefulness  only,  self  never  concerning, 

St.  Mary's  repute  now  circles  the  earth. 
***** 

Aside  from  all  other  influences  which  have  contributed  so  much 
to  the  wreath  of  thirty  summers  that  adorns  St.  Mary's  brow  today, 
there  are  two  other  influences  which  have  been,  to  my  mind,  more 
than  all,  and  without  which  the  excellent  work  of  those  others  which 
I  have  mentioned,  great  as  the  help  has  been,  would  have  failed  of 
such  rich  fruitage.  The  first  is  the  Rector  of  the  school  himself.  I 
am  sure  you  will  join  with  me  in  this  simple  word  of  appreciation  of 
such  a  noble  work,  so  nobly  planned  and  so  nobly  carried  out,  through- 
out all  the  trials  and  changes  of  these  thirty  years.  I  can  not  put  it 
better  than  in  the  words  of  our  hymn  for  Founders'  Day: 

Through  all  the  changing  years 
One  guiding  hand  appears, 
Of  gentle  force. 

They  are  not  mere  words  of  fulsome  and  perfunctory  commen- 
dation, but  the  deepest  wish  and  prayer  of  our  hearts,  that  are 
touched  with  the  thought  of  all  that  he  has  been  and  all  that  he  is 
to  this  school  for  Christian  womanhood. 

Almighty  God  to  Thee 
Our  praise  perpetually 

Thankful  we   raise. 
Watch  o'er  our  honored  head, 
By  Thee  forever  led, 
O  Thou  of  Life,  the  Bread, 

Keep  him  always. 

Give  me  only  a  minute  more,  while  I  mention  the  other  influence. 
Did  you  ever  notice,  as  the  School  files  out  of  Church,  with  the  sym- 
bol of  our  redemption  at  the  head,  the  sweet-voiced  choir  and  white- 
robed  clergy  bringing  up  the  rear,  and  the  pupils  passing  into  the 
line,  how  all,  rector,  teachers,  and  scholars,  are  wrought  into  a  cross? 
So  this  blessed  School  has  sought  through  all  its  years  of  training  to 
weave  into  all  that  the  brain  here  contrives  or  the  hand  undertakes, 

291 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

the  sanctifying  influences  of  our  most  holy  religion.  Other  temples 
of  learning  may  run  after  other  gods,  may  relegate  Christianity  and 
her  teachings  to  the  by-gone  past  of  a  superstitious  age;  may  set  up 
altars  to  intellectual  culture  and  mental  improvement  where  religion 
is  forgotten  or  denied — thus  divorcing  what  God  has  joined  to- 
gether; but  just  as  all  the  glory  of  the  natural  world  is  cold  and  dark 
and  meaningless  without  the  energizing  and  beautifying  illumination 
of  the  sun,  so  St.  Mary's  believes — better  than  this,  consistently  prac- 
tises what  she  believes — that  the  dark  ways  of  learning,  the  obscure 
and  intricate  paths  that  lead  to  all  intellectual  achievement,  can  be 
adequately  traveled  only  under  the  guidance  of  those  bright  rays  that 
come  from  the  Risen  Sun  of  Righteousness. 

Let  me  close  with  a  quotation  from  one  of  our  school  songs: 

When  day  cometh  in  after  darkness  of  night, 
And  all  over  the  east,  the  soft  sunshine  is  beaming, 

Then  thy  cross  high  in  air  is  refulgent  with  light, 
While  its  arms  with  fresh  rays  are  so  brilliantly  gleaming, 
Thus  our  school  lights  the  way 
Toward  perfection's  full  day, 
And  darkness  of  ignorance  driveth  away. 
For  thy  name  dear  St.  Mary's  exalted  shall  be, 
And  my  praise  and  my  love  shall  be  ever  for  thee. 


FROM  THE  RECTOR'S  ADDRESS 

TOMORROW  closes  the  thirtieth  full  year  of  St.  Mary's 
record.  In  looking  back  over  this  long  period,  a  generation  as 
we  are  accustomed  to  count  the  passing  years,  surely  we  must  feel 
that  God  has  been  with  us,  and  that  He  has  a  purpose  in  prospering 
this  work,  beyond  the  success  of  the  present  administration.  We  have 
good  right  and  reason  to  rejoice  today  in  the  retrospect  of  these 
thirty  years;  and  by  so  much  as  we  appreciate  the  blessings  of  these 
years,  by  so  much  the  more  should  we  be  moved  to  devise  liberal 
things,  that  the  continued  influence  of  this  work  may  be  assured. 
Some  time  it  must  be  taken  up  by  others.  To  other  hearts  and  hands, 
some  day,  must  the  destinies  of  St.  Mary's  School  be  entrusted,  and 
nothing  so  much  concerns  us  as  that  everything  shall  be  established 
upon  such  sure  foundations  that  no  calamity  shall  overtake  the  work 
to  which  our  lives  have  been  devoted,  and  upon  which  your  affections 
are  centered. 

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EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

The  architectural  lines,  the  forms  and  furnishings  of  our  school 
home  and  church,  the  trees,  and  flowers,  and  lawns,  and  surround- 
ing landscape,  are  all  telling  to  those  who  look  and  listen,  the  story 
of  St.  Mary's  thirty  years.  The  wilderness  to  which  we  came  in 
1868  now  blossoms  as  the  rose;  and  the  beautiful  shelter  and  sur- 
roundings of  our  school  life  are  the  true  expression,  I  trust,  of  the 
spirit  enshrined  therein. 

We  may  indeed  be  proud  of  our  noble  buildings  and  attractive 
grounds,  and  grateful  for  the  material  prosperity  that  has  brought 
us  these  without  encumbrance  of  debt ;  but  when  you  have  seen  these, 
you  have  not  seen  the  real  St.  Mary's.  When  she  would  exhibit  her 
jewels,  like  the  mother  of  the  Gracchi,  she  points  to  her  children. 
These  are  the  polished  corners  of  her  temple,  in  which  her  pride 
and  joy  are  centered,  and  devoutly  should  we  thank  God,  that  year 
after  year,  from  east  and  west  and  north  and  south,  He  has  entrusted 
to  our  care  many  of  the  best  and  loveliest  of  His  children.  We  have 
rejoiced  in  the  happy  and  healthful  lives  that  they  have  lived  here 
"far  from  the  madding  crowd,"  and  safe  from  the  dangers  and  dis- 
tractions of  the  wicked  world. 

These  dear  girls,  indeed,  are  the  living  stones  of  which  our 
temple  is  builded,  and  not  these  alone  who  are  here  today,  but  also 
the  great  company  who  are  making  the  name  and  fame  of  St. 
Mary's  to  be  known  in  all  the  land.  As  they  have  received  gifts,  so 
are  they  ministering  the  same,  and  giving  to  the  world  not  only  the 
benefit  of  their  ripe  scholarship  and  cultivated  taste,  but  also  that 
which  is  of  much  more  worth,  the  influence  of  consecrated,  Christian 
lives : 

"Better     than     all     measures 
Of  delightful  sound, 
Better  than   all   treasures 
That  in  books  are  found." 

May  they  never  have  less  reason  to  be  proud  of  St.  Mary's  than 
they  have  today;  and  when  they  and  their  children  gather  here  in 
future  years,  may  they  remember  kindly  the  toilers  of  the  Early 
Days  who,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  helped  to  make  for  St.  Mary's 
an  honorable  record! 


293 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
FROM  THE  TRICENNIAL  VALEDICTORY 
By  Margaret  May  Crowley,  '98 
Honorable   Rector,   Reverend  and   Beloved  Father: 

IT  IS  the  great  good  fortune  of  the  class  of  1898  to  belong,  in  an 
especial  sense,  to  the  Tricennial  year,  and  to  feel  warranted  in  of- 
fering you,  on  this  high  occasion,  a  tribute  of  affection,  admiration, 
and  loyalty,  from  all  who  are  under  your  tender  care  and  fatherly 
guidance. 

As  the  "world  leads  around  the  seasons  in  a  choir,  forever  chang- 
ing and  forever  new,"  so  does  each  spring-tide  find  here  assembled 
a  band  who  are  about  to  leave  this  happy  school  home  for  Life's  hard 
school;  each  autumn  finds  the  ranks  filled  with  those  who  are  eager 
to  learn  from  you  the  lessons  which  he  alone  can  teach  who  "wears 
the  marks  of  years  well  spent,  of  virtue,  truth  well  tried,  and  wise 
experience." 

May  we  not  venture,  today,  to  disregard  the  modest  preference 
of  her  whom  we  all  delight  to  honor,  and  include  in  our  heartfelt 
words  of  appreciation,  the  one  who  has  stood  by  your  side,  and  has 
shared  your  labors,  for  more  than  thirty  years?  Although  so  well 
fitted  by  natural  endowments  and  training  "to  warn,  to  counsel, 
and  command,"  she  has  ever  shrunk  from  public  recognition.  How 
fortunate  are  we  to  have  had  constantly  before  us,  the  example  of 
the  model  wife,  the  devoted,  self-sacrificing  mother!  In  these  days  of 
restless  self-assertion,  of  selfish  ambition,  of  what  incalculable  value, 
of  what  far-reaching  effect,  is  such  a  life  as  hers! 

Thirty  years  ago,  in  the  springtime  of  life,  as  of  the  year,  the 
seeds  were  here  planted  of  the  ample  harvests  that  you  are  now  reap- 
ing. Today,  dear  Dr.  Leffingwell, 

"There's  a  golden  haze  in  the  mellow  air; 
There's  purple  and  crimson  everywhere." 

May  the  happiness  and  triumph  that  are  now  yours,  attend  you 
always!  We  crown  you  with  our  gratitude,  as  with  flowers,  while 
we  say,  Farewell!  Farewell! 

Dear  Alumnae  of  St.  Mary's: 

The  pride  and  happiness  that  your  presence  here  today  brings 
to  us  cannot  be  measured   in  words.  The   prophetic   utterance  of 

294 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

St.  Mary's  first  Valedictorian  has  been  fulfilled — the  "noonday's 
glorious  beaming"  has  come  to  our  beloved  Alma  Mater. 

You  have  gathered  here  to  bear  witness  to  the  love  and  favor 
which  God  has  shown  to  the  great  work  of  St.  Mary's  noble  Found- 
ers, and  to  unite  with  us  in  praying  that  they  may  long  serve  be- 
fore Him.  What  more  fitting  wish  can  we  have  for  you  than  that 
entreaty  which  daily  ascends  to  the  throne  of  God  for  all  those  who 
have  been  instructed  here? 

May  you  be  sheltered  with  the  arms  of  God's  love  and  mercy, 
and  may  you  be  granted  the  "riches  of  His  everlasting  Kingdom!" 

Dear  Daughters  of  St.  Mary's,  thrice  Welcome,  and  Farewell! 

Alma  Mater,  Dear  St.  Mary's: 

The  fair  promises  of  thirty  springtides  and  the  golden  fulfill- 
ment of  thirty  autumns  are  thine!  From  the  garnered  treasures  of 
thy  wisdom,  so  bountifully  yielded  to  all  thy  daughters,  what  gifts 
we  now  bear  forth  to  enrich  the  future  years ! 

In  our  memories  of  thee,  the  green  and  the  gold  are  mingled. 
We  leave  thee,  in  the  glory  and  the  green  of  thy  June,  yet  resplen- 
dent in  a  golden  afterglow,  triumphant,  serene. 

That  still  brighter  springs  and  still  richer  harvests  may  be  thine, 
is  the  loyal  wish  of  those  who  now,  with  love  and  longing,  bid  thee 
Farewell! 

OUR  LOVE  TO  THEE,  ST.  MARY'S 
Message  from  the  Southern  California  Chapter  of  Associate  Alumnae 

DEAR  ALMA  MATER,  loved  of  yore,  and  loved  no  less  today, 
We  send  to  thee  a  greeting,  from  the  Southland  far  away; 
For  thronging  memories  to  us  come,  of  the  happy,  happy  past, 
From  out  youth's  prime,  the  golden  time  that  can  not,  can  not  last; 
O'er  ice  and  snow,  this  message  go, 
Our  love  to  thee,  St.  Mary's. 

We  hail  thee,  dear  St.  Mary's!  And  that  our  hearts  are  true 
Is  the  message  we  are  wafting  thee  across  the  mountains  blue, 
Across  the  high  Sierras,  o'er  the  Rockies  crowned  with  snow, 
From  thy  daughters  of  the  Sunland  shall  this  grateful  message  go; 

O'er  ice  and  snow  this  message  go, 

Our  love  to  thee,  St.  Mary's. 

295 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

We  love  thee,  Alma  Mater,  and  each  fond  heart  recalls 

Thy  tender  care,  what  time  we  dwelt  within  thy  sheltering  walls, 

We  love  thee  still,  St.  Mary's,  for  thee  will  ever  pray, 

Heaven's  sweetest  benediction  upon  thee  rest  alway; 

For  thee,  for  thee  we  pray, 

Heaven's  light  and  benediction  upon  thee  rest  alway; 

O'er  ice  and  snow  this  message  go, 

Our  love  to  thee,  St.  Mary's. 

— Nancy  Meneely  Hitchcock. 

LOYALTY  TO  ALMA  MATER 

From  Dr.  Leffingweli/s  Valedictory  Sermon 

June  i,  1919 

Duck  Amor  Patriae.   (Class  Motto) 

Ducit  amor  patriae.  We  may  not  all  serve  our  country  in  the 
same  way,  but  we  may  all  cultivate  the  spirit  of  loyalty  to  the  flag, 
and  devotion  to  the  public  welfare.  We  must  not  enjoy  the  incom- 
parable blessings  of  this  favored  land,  without  recognizing  our  obliga- 
tion to  do  what  we  can  in  return;  that  we  may  pass  on  to  others, 
with  increase,  the  advantages  that  have  come  down  to  us. 

You  young  people  cannot  better  serve  your  country  than  by 
loyalty  to  your  Alma  Mater.  To  the  student,  the  School  is  in  loco 
patriae.  He  lives  in  it  and  by  it;  gets  from  it  inspiration,  intellectual 
wealth,  ideals,  character.  Loyalty  to  it,  consecration  of  wealth  and 
influence  to  sustain  it,  are  his  duty  and  privilege.  When  it  is  in 
danger  he  rushes  to  its  rescue.  If  it  fails,  he  loses  the  friend  and 
benefactor  of  his  youth,  the  pride  of  his  mature  years,  the  comfort  of 
his  age. 

May  the  love  of  Alma  Mater  lead  you!  Cherish  the  class  spirit, 
the  esprit  de  corps.  Keep  in  touch  with  your  classmates  by  friendly 
correspondence  and  reunions  at  the  old  School  home  where  you  first 
met  them,  where  the  most  sacred  friendships  of  your  life  began. 

And  I  hope  you  will  remember  those  who  have  had  the  charge 
and  care  of  you  here.  While  you  were  in  school,  light-hearted  and 
care-free,  perhaps  you  did  not  realize  that  the  officers  and  teachers 
of  your  school  had  any  burdens  to  bear,  or  that  they  were  related 
to  you  in  any  way  outside  of  the  routine  of  school  life.  Later,  you 
will  understand  them  better,  and  you  will  appreciate  your  school 
as   something   far   more    than   a   place   where   you   "boarded"   and 

296 


Francis  L,  Carrington,  LL.D. 

Rector  of   St.   Mary's:    Instituted  June,   1919 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

studied.  You  will  remember  with  gratitude  even  the  kindly  rebukes 
and  restraints,  which  fretted  you  at  the  time;  and  you  will  thank 
God  that  to  your  impulsive  youth  was  granted  the  wise  direction, 
the  uplifting  influence,  of  such  capable  and  consecrated  women  as 
the  principal  and  teachers  of  St.  Mary's  School. 

What  memory  shall  be  most  cherished,  what  privilege  shall  be 
most  prized,  as  you  look  back  upon  your  life  here?  I  hope  you  will 
say,  as  so  many  have  said  before  you:  "The  memory  most  blessed 
of  all  is  the  memory  of  St.  Mary's  Church."  Here,  under  the  timbered 
Gothic  roof,  in  the  light  of  morning  transmitted  through  memorial 
windows,  we  have  together  consecrated  the  day,  and  through  the 
quiet  cloisters  have  gone  forth  assured  of  God's  blessing;  here,  at 
eventide,  have  sung  Magnificat  with  blessed  Mary,  and  offered  prayer 
"for  all  who  have  taught  and  all  who  have  been  instructed  here," 
for  the  founders,  patrons,  and  benefactors  of  the  School.  Precious 
will  be  the  memory  of  the  Lord's  Day,  when  at  the  Lord's  Table 
we  met  with  angels  and  archangels,  to  laud  and  magnify  the  Holy 
Name,  to  offer  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  and  to  receive  the  Bread  which 
cometh  down  from  Heaven.  In  our  far  wanderings  and  through  the 
lapse  of  years,  will  come  back  to  us  the  plaintive  notes  of  Lenten 
Misereres,  and  the  joyous  sleep-waking  carols  of  Easter  morning. 
The  blessed  influences  of  St.  Mary's  Church  shall  be  with  us,  to 
hallow  and  uplift  the  soul  through  all  the  changes  and  chances  of 
this  mortal  life. 

"If  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand  forget  her 
cunning."  Let  us  adopt  these  words  of  the  Psalmist,  as  the  expression 
of  our  devotion  to  St.  Mary's.  Our  love  for  the  old  School  home 
shall  not  grow  less  as  years  go  by.  The  changes  that  are  sure  to  come 
shall  not  lessen  our  loyalty  nor  weaken  our  confidence.  In  more  than 
one  crisis,  "out  of  the  deep"  have  we  called  unto  the  Lord,  and  He  has 
heard  our  voice.  The  change  of  administration,  near  at  hand,  we  be- 
lieve is  in  accordance  with  His  will,  is  under  the  direction  of  His  good 
providence.  I  earnestly  ask  for  our  successors,  the  confidence,  good- 
will, and  cooperation  that  have  been  granted  to  us.  I  could  not  ask 
for  more. 

The  hour  is  near  when  we  must  part,  not  only  from  each  other, 
but  also  from  our  beloved  School.  We  need  not  go  with  heavy  heart 
and  tearful  eyes;  we  must  not  go  with  doubts  and  fears  and  gloomy 
apprehensions.  You  should  be  cheered  by  the  bright  prospect  of  a 
useful  life  for  which  St.  Mary's  has  helped  you  to  prepare.  We  who 

297 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

give  place  to  younger  men  and  women,  should  be  comforted  by  the 
thought  that  we  have  been  permitted  to  help  you  and  so  many  others. 
While  for  us  there  can  be  no  exhilaration  in  looking  forward  to 
future  achievements,  we  may  rest  in  quietness  and  confidence,  assured 
that  others  will  go  on  to  achieve  in  ways  that  we  opened  for  them. 

Beloved,  last  words  must  be  spoken  at  every  turn  in  life.  Let 
ours  today  be  hopeful  words  and  helpful  words,  pledging  our  loyalty 
and  love  forever  to  St.  Mary's. 

The  last  words  of  my  last  sermon  here  shall  be  these  reverent  and 
prophetic  lines,  read  at  our  Tricennial  Celebration,  by  the  valedic- 
torian of  the  first  graduating  class: 

Not  unto  us,  but  unto  Thee, 

O  God,  be  praise ! 
The  tiny  seed  beneath  Thy  care 
Grows  the  tall  tree  of  heaven'6  own  air, 

Through  lengthened  days. 
In  all  its  weakness  was  it  Thine, 
And  owes  its  strength  to  power  Divine ; 

If  storms  have  shaken  branch  and  root, 

Not  less  the  sap  has  filled  the  fruit. 

The  century  moves  to  wider  life, 

And  woman  widens  brain  and  heart; 
At  last  she  hears  the  Master's  word 

And  chooses  all  the  better  part. 
We  hear  Thy  "Come  up  higher,"  Lord, 

Our  banner  is  not  furled ; 
The  Church  shall  see  St.  Mary's  yet 

Christ's  College  in  the  world. 

ALUMNAE  HYMN 
(To  the  tune  of  "Auld  Lang  Syne") 

FROM  far  and  near  we  gather  here, 
And  loving  tribute  bring 
To  thee,  St.  Mary's,  mother  dear, 
Whose  praise  we  ever  sing. 

Chorus 
To  thee,  to  thee,  St.  Mary's  dear, 

Our  tribute  we  will  bring; 
Thy  loving  care  we'll  ne'er  forget, 

Thy  praises  we  will  sing. 

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EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

In  peace  we  dwelt  within  thy  walls, 

In  happy  girlhood  days, 
And  learned,  within  thy  classic  halls, 

To  walk  in  Wisdom's  ways. 

Though  far  from  thee  our  feet  may  roam, 

Our  hearts  are  ever  thine; 
Thou  wert  to  us  a  blessed  home, 

Thou  art  to  us  a  shrine. 

Wherever  in  the  world  we  are, 

Whate'er  our  work  may  be, 
Thy  love  shall  be  to  us  the  star 

That  lights  our  way  to  thee. 

W.L. 


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EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
L'ENVOI 

MEN  come  and  go;  it  matters  not 
Their  names  are  written  on  the  sand, 
If  but  the  works  they  planned  and  wrought 
Upon  the  One  Foundation  stand. 

On  me  the  years  have  left  their  mark, 

Of  age  advancing,  sober  truth; 
But  dear  St.  Mary's  ever  seems 

A  fountain  of  perpetual  youth. 

The  happy  girls  that  joy  today, 

To  see  the  first  June  roses  blow, 
As  young  and  beautiful  appear 

As  half  a  century  ago! 

And  years  have  lightly  laid  their  hand 

On  those  who  teach  and  guard  and  rule; 

All  hearts  keep  young,  of  those  who  dwell 
In  sunshine  of  St.  Mary's  School. 

On  all  who  lend  the  helping  hand 

Of  faithful  service,  true  and  tried, 
On  those  who  teach  and  those  who  toil, 

I  pray  for  blessings  multiplied; 

On  students  and  Alumnae  dear 

Who  work  or  wait,  where  duty  calls; 
God  bless  the  School,  and  all  who  dwell 

Within  its  vine-clad,  sheltering  walls. 

God  bless  the  benefactors,  friends, 

And  patrons,  by  whose  generous  aid 
This  work  was  done,  these  walls  were  reared, 

These  strong  foundations  firmly  laid. 

St.  Mary's,  ever  dear  thy  name! 
Forever  bright  thy  record  be! 
May  children's  children  share  thy  love; 
Our  love  till  death  is  pledged  to  thee! 

Charles  Wesley  Leffingwell. 

Pasadena,  A.  D.  1926. 


300 


SUPPLEMENT 


SOME  SCHOOL  GIRL  COMPOSITIONS 

HESE  little  dissertations  are  brought  to- 
gether in  a  Supplement,  not  as  an  exhibit  of 
remarkable  literary  performance,  but  as 
fair  specimens  of  school  work;  to  my  mind, 
the  most  interesting  phase  of  that  work.  As  a  teacher,  I 
always  enjoyed  "correcting  compositions",  notwith- 
standing the  drudgery  of  it,  for  it  brought  me  into 
closer  contact  with  the  mind  of  the  student  than  any 
other  class  exercise.  To  note  the  improvement  of  the 
student  in  speaking  and  writing  is  most  interesting,  and 
the  school  girl's  point  of  view  is  often  quite  entertain- 
ing. 

While  discipline  of  mind  is  the  first  aim  of  secular 
education,  power  of  expression  is  of  little  less  impor- 
tance. Indeed,  without  this,  intellectual  attainments  do 
not  count  for  their  full  value.  I  believe  that  many 
readers  will  enjoy  these  youthful  productions,  and  form 
a  favorable  estimate  of  our  work  in  the  "Early  Days  at 
St.  Mary's." 

It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  these  little  sketches  were 
not  "edited"  for  publication,  but  are  given  as  they  came 
from  the  classroom,  with  such  corrections  as  the  teacher 
ordinarily  makes. 


303 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

A  VISITOR  who  had  the  pleasure,  recently,  of  being  present  at 
the  reading  of  the  essays  of  the  Second  Rhetoric  Class,  reports : 
There  was  a  grave  dissertation  on  Bells  in  general,  with  a  sly  hit  at 
Belles  in  particular.  There  was  an  essay  on  Hand-Shaking,  telling 
us  "how  not  to  do  it."  A  young  lady,  whose  home  is  on  the  shore  of 
Long  Island  Sound,  treated  us  to  a  pleasant  sketch  of  "Country 
Life  Beside  the  Sea."  Another  set  forth  sundry  grievances  in  an 
article  entitled,  "What  I  do  not  Like."  Especially  did  she 
empty  the  vials  of  her  wrath  on  rising  bells  and  composition 
writing.  The  author  has  but  to  keep  on,  to  develop  into  a  first-class 
grumbler.  "Grandmother's  Garret"  was  explored  by  another  literary 
aspirant;  and  still  another  took  us  "Around  the  Lakes";  while  a 
lively  French  translation  gave  much  pleasure.  "A  Sunset  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains"  was  very  enjoyable;  though,  as  we  retain  our 
childish  aversion  to  bears,  we  object  to  being  obliged  to  find  our 
way  down  from  a  lofty  peak  after  nightfall.  "The  Adventures  of  a 
Country  Lady  on  her  first  trip  to  New  York"  occasioned  much 
laughter. 

THE  Senior  Class  have  been  writing  Problematic  Characters. 
Not  only  have  the  members  of  the  class  been  pondering  over 
them,  but  the  whole  School  have  been  trying  their  wits  at  guessing. 
The  Junior  Middle  Class  are  engaged  in  "Opinions,  Observations, 
and  Reflection."  Unhappy  is  the  girl  who  is  accosted  in  the  hall  by 
two  or  three  of  the  above  mentioned  class  with,  "Give  me  your 
opinion  on  a  September  Day,  or  the  Chapel,  or  Miss  Hitchcock's 
Recitation  Room."  Ideas  fly  when  the  "opinion"  seeker  approaches 
with  her  notebook. 


THE  Rhetoric  Class  had  been  writing  "Tales  from  Shakes- 
peare." In  the  reading  of  them  a  curious  coincidence  was 
brought  to  light.  With  few  exceptions,  the  subjects  were  chosen  from 
two  plays  lately  read,  The  Tempest  and  The  Merchant  of  Venice. 
The  effect  was  rather  ludicrous  when  the  story  of  Miranda  and 
Ferdinand  became  a  thrice-told  tale,  and  Antonio  was  again  and 
again  bidden  to  "prepare  his  bosom  for  the  knife" ;  while  the  tragedy 
of  Romeo  and  Juliet  suffered  a  change  into  "most  sweet  comedy." 
On  the  same  occasion  the  Seniors  read  papers,  discussing,  in  a 
spirited  manner,  the  question,  "Has  the  Story  of  Jack  and  the  Bean 

304 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

Stalk  Exerted  a  Wholesome  Influence  on  the  Young?"  The  affirma- 
tive was  well  sustained,  though  the  general  verdict  was,  "The  Noes 
had  it." 

Serio-comic  discussion  like  this  is  much  to  be  commended.  The 
playfulness  that  the  development  of  such  a  theme  is  fitted  to  bring 
into  exercise,  is  one  charm  of  that  most  womanly  accomplishment, 
graceful  letter-writing.  Few  of  the  great  army  of  "seniors"  from 
college  and  school  are  ever  heard  of  as  essay-writers,  after  the  ex- 
hausting, if  not  exhaustive  efforts  on  Commencement  day;  few  are 
the  writers  of  the  essay  proper,  in  the  whole  realm  of  letters;  few 
graduates,  however  brilliant,  are  ever  known  as  writers  at  all.  Nor 
is  this  to  be  regretted.  In  the  midst  of  the  making  of  many  books, 
it  were  well  to  remember  that  the  only  powerful  reason  why  we 
should  enter  the  field  is,  the  finding  "in  heart,  mind,  or  soul  an 
original  thought,  so  vivid,  so  intense,  that  it  demands  utterance." 

Except  for  the  very  few,  the  chief  use  of  language  is  in  social  in- 
tercourse and  in  letter-writing.  And  what  shall  be  the  preparation 
for  this?  Not  the  squeezing  of  dry  sponges  in  the  attempt  to  pro- 
duce thought  where  there  is  none,  and  upon  themes  with  which  the 
immature  intellect  is  unfit  to  grapple.  The  result  is  seen  in  crude 
"essays,"  the  reproduction  of  the  thoughts  of  others.  As  a  Junior 
lucidly  expressed  it  a  few  days  since,  they  "read  up  and  write  down," 

"A  poet  can  make  soup  of  a  sausage-stick,"  says  the  witty  mouse 
in  Hans  Anderson's  fable.  Our  Seniors  have  made  a  most  palatable 
extract  from  Jack's  Bean  Stalk,  and  need  not  regret  the  time  spent 
in  the  brewing."  — Palladium. 


THE  BULLETIN  BOARD 

Composition 

AN  Index  to  school  life  is  the  bulletin  board;  very  unpretentious 
in  appearance,  being  a  piece  of  pine  neatly  framed  in  black 
walnut,  but  from  which  may  be  gathered  the  odds  and  ends  of  in- 
formation relative  to  current  affairs  in  school. 

If  variety  is  the  spice  of  life,  a  considerable  amount  of  seasoning 
might  be  infused  into  one's  existence,  by  a  daily  perusal  of  the  notices 
on  the  bulletin  board.  In  one  corner  is  a  list  of  names  headed:  "Ex- 
cused from  school."  That  looks  bad,  we  confess;  but  consider  that 
students  are  like  the  rest  of  the  world,  subject  to  the  various  ills  that 

305 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

flesh  is  heir  to,  and  accordingly  out  of  one  hundred  pupils,  some  por- 
tion may  each  day  be  excused. 

Here  is  another  paper,  a  little  awry  since  it  is  of  ostentatious 
proportions  and  yet  fastened  by  a  single  pin.  In  startling  penmanship 
and  with  words  well  underscored,  is  written  the  following: 

"Attention!  Any  parties  desiring  hair  work  done  in  the  way  of  clipping, 
cleansing,  and  shampooing,  apply  to  members  of  '82  and  '83  for  information." 

What  can  be  the  object  of  this?  Well,  it  has  a  laudable  end  in 
view;  the  proceeds  from  this  branch  of  industry  are  appropriated  to 
the  Chapel  fund. 

History  questions  in  orderly  array  make  their  appearance  with 
the  regularity  of  a  Chicago  morning  paper.  Directly  under  "The 
Old  Oaken  Bucket,  to  be  learned  by  the  Preparatory  Grammar 
Class,"  is  an  announcement  to  this  effect: 

"The  Philological  Society  calls  for  quotations  and  will  be  grateful  for  any 
aid." 

It  is  to  be  hoped  for  the  sake  of  the  nerves  and  brains  of  the 
members  of  this  society,  that  they  will  not  have  to  struggle  with 
many  such  definitions  as  we  notice  pinned  on  the  board  at  present: 
"Net  work  is  any  thing  reticulated  or  decussated  at  equal  distances 
with  interstices  between  the  intersections."  Thus  does  the  inimitable 
Dr.  Johnson  make  lucid  the  complicated  idea  of  net  work. 

—X.  Y.  Z. 

SPIDERS 

Composition 

WITH  reference  to  their  feelings  toward  arachnidae,  mankind 
might  be  divided  into  three  classes.  First,  there  are  those  who 
delight  in  studying  different  kinds  of  insects,  their  habits  and  char- 
acteristics, who  even  make  pets  of  them.  Goldsmith,  it  is  said,  kept 
one  of  them  in  his  room  for  three  years.  The  second  class  are  those 
who  look  on  spiders  as  necessary  evils,  to  be  regarded  with  indiffer- 
ence; and  the  third,  those  who  shudder  at  sight  of  this  little  beastie, 
and  think  there  is  no  more  fearful  wild  fowl  living,  than  is  your 
spider ! 

We  find  somewhat  the  same  division,  as  regards  the  figurative 
spiders  of  life.  There  are  those  who  enjoy  misfortunes  and  seem  to 
thrive  on  them;  those  who  think  that  they  are  inevitable,  and  that, 

306 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

as  what  can't  be  cured  must  be  endured,  they  might  as  well  be  en- 
dured cheerfully;  and  there  are  those  who  are  in  constant  terror  of 
the  next  spider,  feeling  sure  that  it  will  be  bigger  and  blacker  than 
the  last  one. 

It  is  not  very  many  years  since  we  delighted  in  the  story  of  "Lit- 
tle Miss  Muffet,  who  sat  on  her  turret,  eating  curds  and  whey" ;  and 
the  larger  and  more  fierce  looking  the  picture  of  the  spider  who  "sat 
down  beside  her,"  the  better  we  liked  it. 

Who  of  us  has  not,  at  some  time,  had  an  especially  delicious  dish 
of  curds  and  whey  spoiled  by  some  black  spider?  Like  a  well-known 
modern  heroine,  we  can  say,  "Every  Miss  Muffet  has  her  spider; 
will  some  one  step  on  mine?" 

Little  Muffet,  however,  did  not,  like  some  frail  creatures  we 
wot  of  in  real  life,  jump  on  a  chair  and  cry  loudly  for  help,  but 
calmly  and  courageously — ran  away ! 

Courageously?  Yes:  Is  not  discretion  the  better  part  of  valor? 
The  rhyme  does  not  tell  us  that  the  spider  followed  her.  So  may 
we  often  go  away  from  our  miseries,  or,  better  still,  we  may  modify 
them  so  that  they  will  cease  to  be  misfortunes.  Shakespeare  has  said: 

"Nothing  is  a  misery 
Unless    our    weakness    apprehend    it    so." 

Who  can  tell  what  might  have  happened  if  Miss  Muffet  had  not 
been  frightened  away!  Perhaps  a  good  fairy  had  come  to  her  in  the 
guise  of  a  hideous  spider.  We  may — but  I  will  let  you  point  the 
moral  and  adorn  the  tale  for  yourselves. 

No  doubt  many  of  us  have  a  retent  in  the  memory  of  the  little 
jumping  spiders  which  frequent  the  bridge  near  Mirror  Lake.  What 
spiteful  creatures  they  are,  always  jumping  out  from  cracks  in  the 
wood,  to  startle  the  innocent  schoolgirl  who  leans  peacefully  over 
the  railing.  I  will  spare  you  any  allusions  to  the  much  written  of 
student  in  life's  school,  but  will  warn  you  to  be  watchful  for  the 
sudden  appearance  of  these  spiders,  when  you  may  be  idling  away 
your  time  on  one  of  the  many  bridges  in  this  work-a-day  world. 

How  extremely  fond  we  all  are  of  magnifying  "trifles,  light  as 
air,"  into  mountains  of  troubles!  By  thinking  of  our  misfortunes, 
and  bewailing  them,  we  may, 

"As  'tis  the  adage, 
Make   a   leek   a   cabbage." 

30? 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

The  smallest  spider  of  them  all  may,  by  a  slight  stretch  of  the 
imagination,  become  as  formidable  as  the  largest  tarantula. 

This,  then,  is  what  I  mean  by  spiders.  The  same  idea  is  gen- 
erally expressed  by  thorns  in  the  pillow;  and  Thackeray  uses  the 
expression,  "Thorns  in  the  cushion."  But  what's  in  a  name?  Call  it 
what  you  will,  but  be  prepared  to  turn  your  bete  noire  into  an  airy 
nothing;  for 

"You  may  sit  on  your  tuffct, 
Yes,  cushion  and  stuff  it; 
And  provide  what  you  please,  if  you  don't 
fancy  whey; 
But  before  you  can  eat  it 
There'll  be — I  repeat  it — 
Some  sort  of  black  spider  to  come  in  the  way." 

Elizabeth  K.  Ewing. 


LITTLE  WOMEN 

Composition 

I  RISE  to  inquire  why  it  is  that  little  women  should  monopolize 
all  the  goodness,  all  the  virtue,  all  the  beauty  in  the  world,  and 
why  they  should  have  such  an  extended  sway? 

Who  is  not  familiar  with  the  little  woman  of  the  modern  novel? 
Sometimes  she  is  a  motherly  little  person,  bustling  around  here  and 
there,  doing  all  sorts  of  kind  deeds  for  the  poor  or  sick;  but  oftener 
she  is  a  frail,  fairy-like  being,  as  lovely  and  delicate  as  a  snowflake, 
yet  capable  of  performing  all  sorts  of  impossibilities.  She  turns  off 
sewing  at  a  rate  that  is  alarming  to  behold,  and  manages  large  house- 
holds with  all  the  ease  and  grace  imaginable;  and  through  all  kinds 
of  worry  and  trouble,  she  is  as  serene  and  smiling  as  a  May  morning. 
Generally  she  is  beautiful,  possessing  wonderful  eyes,  a  bewitching 
little  rosebud  mouth,  and  sunshiny  hair.  But  whatever  else  she  may 
be,  she  must  be  little. 

In  contrast  to  her,  is  the  large  woman  of  the  novel,  who  is  sup- 
posed to  be  perfectly  heartless  and  unsympathizing  in  everything. 
She  is  the  one  who  does  all  sorts  of  disagreeable  things,  and  invents 
quarrels  for  other  people,  who  perhaps  are  little  and  not  able  to  in- 
vent them  for  themselves.  She  never  gets  credit  for  any  spark  of 
goodness  she  may  happen  to  possess;  but  is  put  down  as  altogether 
devoid  of  feeling.  She  is  supposed  to  spend  the  greater  part  of  her 

308 


C/3 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

time  in  working  mischief  to  her  diminutive  rival,  who,  when  these 
schemes  have  failed,  angelically  forgives  and  forgets. 

Such  is  the  idea  of  the  novelist.  But  I  ask,  Is  the  picture  a  cor- 
rect one? 

Who  of  us  cannot  call  to  our  remembrance  some  little  woman 
we  know  or  have  met  in  the  course  of  our  lives,  who  is  very  far  from 
resembling  this  fair  ideal ;  is  in  fact  the  very  opposite  ?  We  find  them 
generally,  I  think,  much  given  to  reclining  in  easy  chairs,  and  addicted 
to  the  reading  of  French  novels.  And  when  a  little  woman  has  a 
temper,  or  is  disposed  to  scold,  she  can  eclipse  all  her  large  sized 
competitors.  History  is  silent  upon  the  subject,  but  I  am  sure  Xan- 
tippe  was  a  little  woman. 

Glancing  over  the  pages  of  history,  we  cannot  see  that  little 
women  have  gained  more  glory  or  fame  than  large  women;  indeed, 
it  seems  to  be  quite  the  contrary.  We  are  not  told  that  Helen  of 
Troy,  Cleopatra,  Joan  of  Arc,  or  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  was  re- 
markably small.  Little  women  have  entirely  too  easy  a  time.  Every 
one  is  willing  to  help  them  in  every  possible  way;  while  their  larger 
sisters  are  allowed  to  pass  unaided,  probably  because  broad  shoulders 
and  a  few  additional  inches  of  stature  are  supposed  to  fit  the  owner 
for  the  toughest  of  life's  battles. 

I  am  unwilling  that  this  state  of  things  should  last;  and  in  the 
name  of  large  women,  I  demand  a  reform.  I  see  no  reason  why  a 
woman's  virtues  should  be  in  inverse  ratio  to  her  size;  and  while  I 
am  willing  to  grant  to  our  small  friends  their  share  of  merit,  I  am 
not  content  to  see  all  the  goodness,  all  the  beauty,  all  the  excellence 
of  earth,  monopolized  by  these  irrepressible  Little  Women. 

-J.L. 

A  DREAM  IN  A  LIBRARY 

Composition 


o 


NE  evening,  at  the  hour  friendliest  to  sleep,  while  sitting  in  our 
well  filled  library  before  a  grate  fire, 

"Where    glowing    embers    through    the    room 
Taught  light  to   counterfeit  a  gloom;" 

I  fell  into  a  half-waking,  half-sleeping  condition.  Suddenly  I  started 
up,  for  before  me  were  two  rows  of  books,  and  a  large,  fat  volume 
was  saying,  "Is  all  our  company  here?"  "You  were  best  to  call  them 

309 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

generally,  man  by  man,  according  to  the  scrip,"  answered  a  battered 
facsimile  of  the  first,  evidently  a  poor  relation.  "Wei  nyne-and- 
twenty  in  a  compainye,"  piped  up  Fader  Chaucer,  the  leader  of  the 
other  side.  Next,  Spenser  spoke,  saying,  "Virtue  gives  herself  light 
through  darkness  for  to  wade";  to  which  the  Blind  Bard  replied: 

"Virtue    could    see    to    do    what    virtue    would, 
By  her  own  radiant  light,  though  sun  and  moon 
Were  in  the  flat  sea  sunk." 

From  the  leaves  of  the  Essay  on  Man,  came  the  words,  "Virtue  alone 
is  happiness  below."  "Assume  a  virtue,  if  you  have  it  not,"  retorted 
the  fat  volume  that  spoke  first. 

"Dreams,    books,    are   each    a    world, 
Both  pure  and  good," 

came  with  a  faint  rustling  from  a  brown  covered  volume.  "A  taste 
for  books  is  the  pleasure  and  glory  of  my  life,"  said  another. 
"Humph,"  answered  The  Father  of  Inductive  Philosophy,  "to  spend 
too  much  time  in  studies  is  sloth."  "Give  days  and  nights,  sir,  to  the 
study  of  Addison,  if  you  would  be  a  good  writer,  or  what  is  more 
worth,  an  honest  man,"  says  Samuel  Johnson,  every  leaf  quivering 
with  indignation. 

To  prevent  the  quarrel  that  seemed  imminent,  Sir  Philip  Sidney 
quoted  his  definition  of  gentlemanliness :  "High-erected  thoughts, 
seated  in  a  heart  of  courtesy."  Burly  Ben  Jonson,  after  prodigious 
hemming  and  hawing,  slipped  back  to  his  place  on  the  shelf.  It  is  to 
be  feared  that  in  fancy  he  had  been  indulging  in  his  favorite  canary 
wine,  as  holy  George  Herbert  said  in  a  solemn  voice:  "Drink  not  the 
third  glass,"  and  Shakespeare,  out  of  tune,  broke  in  with,  "Villain, 
thy  lips  are  scarce  wiped  since  thou  drunkst  last."  Then  poor  Pope 
said,  in  a  severe  tone,  "Order  is  heaven's  first  law."  Here  a  change 
came  o'er  the  spirit  of  my  dream,  and  I  heard  no  more,  until  the  tea- 
bell  ringing  roused  me  in  time  to  hear  Fader  Chaucer's  last  words, 
"There  is  no  more  to  say."  — A.  B.  S. 


310 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 
THE  WOEFUL  BALLAD  OF  LITTLE  BO-PEEP 

Composition 

THIS  remarkable  work  of  the  well-known  poet,  Mother  Goose, 
though  framed  in  simple  language,  contains  lessons  of  wisdom; 
many  a  nugget  of  pure  though  unpolished  gold,  which  it  were  not 
well  to  overlook. 

Let  us  observe  then,  in  the  first  place,  how  skilfully  the  poet 
has  wielded  her  pen  in  the  development  of  the  tragic  story.  One 
might  think  it  heart-rending  enough  to  have  lost  the  sheep  and  not 
to  "know  where  to  find  'em."  Ah,  burden  doubly  hard  to  bear !  And 
then  when  the  perplexed  shepherdess  seeks  advice  in  her  trouble, 
what  knowledge  of  human  nature  in  the  answer: 

"Let  'em  alone 
And  they'll  come  home." 

Such  advisers  belong  to  the  class  whose  motto  is  "Take  it  easy," 
and  who,  like  Micawber,  wait  for  "something  to  turn  up."  But  what 
advice  to  give  a  poor  weeping  and  despairing  maiden,  "Let  'em  alone 
and  they'll  come  home!" 

We  find  Bo-Peep  hesitating  at  first  about  following  this  counsel; 
but  she  is  finally  persuaded  that  all  will  be  well.  So  she  rests  con- 
tent and  happy,  waiting  for  the  coming  home  of  her  sheep. 

Meanwhile  she  falls  asleep  and  dreams  she  hears  them  bleating. 
Alas,  for  the  stuff  that  dreams  are  made  of!  How  they  beguile  us 
by  hopes  that  can  never  be  fulfilled!  Sweet  it  is  to  dream,  but  the 
awakening  is  pitiful. 

Such  an  awakening  had  little  Bo-Peep ;  for 

"When  she  awoke, 
She  found  it  a  joke, 
For  still  they  all  were  fleeting." 

A  joke  perhaps,  but  a  cruel  one,  such  as  dreams  are  apt  to  play 
upon  us.  Her  imagination  had  been  raised  to  the  highest  state  of 
happy  expectation,  only  to  be  hurled  again  into  the  lowest  depths  of 
despair. 

Yes:  "Still  they  all  were  fleeting!" — fleeting  as  are  all  earthly 
hopes.  The  hopes  of  childhood  slowly  fade;  the  hopes  of  youth  are 
crushed  and  broken,  and  the  "dead  past  buries  its  dead";  the  silvery 

3ii 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

head  bent  with  the  weight  of  years  has  found  how  fleeting  and  de- 
ceitful are  all  the  hopes  of  earth. 

But  behold  our  heroine,  taking  up  arms  against  her  sea  of 
troubles ! 

"Then  up  she  took 
Her  little  crook, 
Determined  for  to  find  'em/' 

Thus  she  displayed  true  heroism.  What  courage  and  boldness 
are  brought  before  us  in  those  simple  words. 
But  to  proceed  with  the  story: 

"She  found  them  indeed, 
But   it   made    her    heart    bleed." 

Poor,  poor  heart,  bleeding  for  a  few  little  sheep!  How  tender 
it  must  have  been!  What  a  world  of  love  it  held!  Let  us  draw  a 
curtain  over  the  tragical  details  of  the  closing  scene. 

And  now  what  lesson  shall  we  gain  from  this  simple  little  ballad  ? 
We  all  are  carriers  of  little  crooks;  we  all  have  our  sheep  to  lead, 
and  alas !  we  lose  them  as  did  Little  Bo-Peep. 

"Wealth   vanishes   with   stealthy  tread, 
Then  Friendship  follows  to  be  fed, 
And  foolish  Love  is  after  led." 

So  they  leave  us;  but  shall  we  stand  gazing  after?  Or  will  fall- 
ing fast  asleep  bring  back  again  the  fleeting  sheep?  As  they  disappear, 
let  us  rather  turn  and  say: 

"Forward!  nor  pause  to  think  of  pain, 
Till   somewhere,  on  a  nobler  plane, 
A  surer  hope  shall  lead  the  train 
Of  joys   withheld   to   come   again, 
With  golden  fleeces  trailed  behind  'em!" 

— L.  T.  W. 


312 


The  Bowling  Alleys 


The  Swimming  Pool 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

THE  MOUSE  IN  LITERATURE 

Composition 

WHILE  the  great  men  of  letters  seem  to  have  found  inspiration 
in  the  notes  of  the  "sweet  bird  that  shun'st  the  noise  of  folly," 
and  in  the  carol  of  the  lark  when  he  begins  his  flight,  still  they  have 
by  no  means  forgotten  that  "wee  cowering,  timorous  beastie,"  the 
mouse. 

This  little  fellow  is  indeed  no  modern  personage  in  literature; 
for  looking  backward  nearly  two  thousand  years,  in  sage  old  Aesop 
we  find  the  story  of  the  mouse  who  by  gnawing  the  ropes  freed  the 
lion  from  his  prison  of  net- work.  In  childhood,  this  story  of  "two 
noble  beasts,"  only  amused  and  delighted  us;  but  later,  something 
more  than  mere  enjoyment  was  to  be  found  in  it.  It  teaches  us  that 
everything,  however  small  and  apparently  insignificant,  has  a  place 
in  this  great  universe. 

Time  has  changed  the  hearts  of  people,  or  else  in  Chaucer's  day, 
the  nun,  who  went  upon  a  pilgrimage  to  Canterbury,  was  an  ex- 
ception to  the  rule;  for — 

"She  was  so  charitable  and  piteous 
She  wolde  weepe  if  that  sche  sawe  a  mous 
Caught  in  a  trappe." 

At  the  present  day,  if  a  woman  wept  at  all  because  of  an  im- 
prisoned mouse,  it  would  be  over  the  problem  of  how  to  get  the 
little  animal  out  of  the  trap  without  touching  it. 

The  field  of  the  drama,  although  not  over-run  by  mice,  is  not 
entirely  free  from  them;  as  in  King  Lear,  we  hear  of  this  little  fel- 
low being  used,  with  "other  small  deer,"  as  an  article  of  diet.  Again, 
Shakespeare  speaks  of  the  mouse,  and  very  happily  alludes  to  the 
fear  with  which  this  little  beastie  is  regarded  by  the  gentler  sex, 
when  he  has  Snug,  who  personates  the  lion,  say: 

"You,  ladies,  you,  whose  gentle  hearts  do  fear 
The    smallest   monstrous    mouse    that   creeps   on    floor." 

The  classic  fable  of  the  "Town  and  Country  Mouse"  attracted 
the  learned  and  ingenious  Alexander  Pope,  as  well  as  the  sardonic 
Swift,  to  give  it  form  in  verse.  Nor  did  Burns  think  the  mouse  be- 
neath his  notice;  as  in  his  quaint  Scotch  dialect,  he  has  helped  to  en- 
rich literature  with  an  account  of  this  "Wee,  sleekit,  cowering  timor- 

313 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

ous  beastie,"  whose  lot  he  seems  to  think  blest,  compared  with  that 
of  his  "Poor  earth-born  companion  and  fellow  mortal,  man." 

From  Hans  Anderson  we  hear  of  the  mouse  that,  eating  his  way 
through  a  library,  found  that  the  recipe  for  making  soup  out  of  a 
sausage  stick  was  known  only  to  a  poet.  "A  poet  can  make  soup  of 
a  sausage  stick!"  No  wonder  that  this  discovery  won  for  the  wise 
mouse  the  pay  of  the  daughter  of  the  king  of  the  mice. 

Evidently,  in  Mother  Goose's  day,  the  gentle  sex  did  not  hold 
this  little  fellow  in  dread;  for  when  the  old  bachelor  was  led  to  the 
desperate  resort  of  matrimony,  on  account  of  the  strife  made  by  the 
rats  and  the  mice,  he  found  one  woman  brave  enough  to  marry  him. 

Tennyson's  mouse  seems  to  have  been  frisky  and  noisy;  for  from 
"behind  the  mouldering  wainscot"  it  shrieked  and  from  a  "crevice 
peer'd  about,"  in  Mariana's  dreary  abode  at  the  moated  grange. 

A  popular  writer  of  the  day,  in  one  of  his  amusing  plays,  "The 
Mouse-Trap,"  seems  to  think  it  proper  and  necessary  to  mount  every 
woman  upon  a  chair,  when  the  alarm,  A  mouse !  A  mouse !  is  given. 
Then  from  this  exalted  position,  these  fair  creatures  hold  a  contro- 
versy as  to  the  best  way  to  escape  from  the  apartment.  After  numerous 
assurances  that  the  mouse  is  not  there,  they  venture  to  alight;  and 
finding  themselves  unharmed,  they  assure  each  other  that  they  are 
"not  one  bit  afraid  of  mice."  A  great  many  of  us  who  secretly  hold 
this  humble  little  creature  in  abhorrence  as  the  "most  fearful  wild 
fowl  living,"  may  comfort  ourselves  by  agreeing  with  Howell's 
heroine,  that  "it  is  not  the  mouse,  it's  the  i-de-a." 

— Mary  S.  Moore. 


"OH!" 

Composition 

BREVITY  is  the  Soul  of  wit."  So  said  the  statesman  Polonius, 
in  a  windy  speech  of  "words,  words,  words";  and  so  said  we 
one  morning  when,  entering  the  class-room  of  the  teacher  of  mathe- 
matics, we  beheld  upon  the  blackboard  a  gigantic  "Oh!" 

We  were  charmed  by  its  suggestiveness,  leaving  so  much,  so 
very  much,  to  the  imagination  of  the  reader!  Its  huge  proportions, 
and  the  nervous  energy  displayed  in  the  stroke,  indicated  that  it  had 
been  prompted  by  some  heart  sorely  overcharged,  fractured  per- 
haps in  its  struggle  with  fractions,  and  out  of  all   proportion  of 

3H 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 

temper  with  the  "rule  of  three."  Poor  victim  of  mathematics!  Had 
some  radical  difficulty  caused  her  to  fly  off  in  this  tangent?  Had 
some  triangular  crag  stood  in  her  way,  as  she  toiled  up  the  hill  of 
knowledge?  Or,  surfeited  with  conic  sections,  was  this  parabolic 
"Oh"  written  all  over  the  tablet  of  her  mind? 

Seeing  it  in  any  other  place  but  in  that  room,  we  might  have 
given  a  different  interpretation  to  it.  In  the  vocabulary  of  school- 
girls it  serves  many  uses  and  has  a  variety  of  meanings.  How  could 
we  do  without  that  little  monosyllable  ?  How  easily  it  is  uttered,  and 
how  much  it  expresses!  Joy  and  sorrow,  surprise  and  sarcasm,  hope 
and  fear,  tenderness  and  severity,  all  in  turn,  can  be  embraced  in 
that  one  word.  It  is,  moreover,  the  best  vowel  sound  in  the  language, 
the  most  resonant  and  pleasing  to  the  ear. 

Still,  it  may  be  well  to  cultivate  a  variety  of  expression,  and 
avoid  the  charge  that  is  sometimes  made  against  school-girls,  that 
their  language  abounds  in  adjectives  and  exclamations. 

—(Unsigned). 

JOHN  SAWS  WOOD 

Composition 

I  DO  not  intend  to  parse  this,  as  some  of  you  may  think.  I  am 
not  going  to  explain  the  predilection  young  grammarians  have 
had,  from  time  immemorial,  for  giving  this  as  an  example  of  sub- 
jective and  objective.  I  am  simply  going  to  tell  why  and  how  Jon- 
athan, manipulating  the  unpretentious  implement  commonly  known 
as  a  saw,  caused  the  clinging  fibers  of  the  mighty  oak  to  divide  in 
twain. 

Why  should  John  saw  wood?  By  hypothesis,  John  is  a  "rude 
mechanical,"  a  "hard-handed  son  of  toil,"  and  perforce  must  earn 
his  livelihood  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow.  What  shall  he  do  to  obtain 
his  daily  bread?  Follow  the  plow?  Farm  work  is  not  congenial  to 
him,  there  is  too  much  change,  variety  is  not  the  spice  of  John's 
life,  and  besides  he  has  no  land.  You  say  he  might  be  a  well  digger, 
hod-carrier,  bricklayer,  and  so  he  might;  but  these  employments  are 
not  adapted  to  the  aesthetic  temperament  of  the  over-fastidious  John. 

Now,  on  the  other  hand,  what  arguments  can  we  bring  to  show 
that  sawing  wood  is  a  good  occupation  ? 

John  can  be  protected  from  the  winter  storms  or  summer  heat 

315 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

while  he  works,  or  he  can  be  out  of  doors  if  he  chooses.  Sawing  wood 
develops  the  muscles,  it  gives  him  a  good  appetite.  The  outdoor  life 
makes  him  healthy;  continued  application  to  business,  and  strictest 
economy  on  his  part,  will  in  time  make  him  wealthy.  Careful  ob- 
servation of  human  nature,  and  an  occasional  dropping  into  a  school- 
room to  hear  himself  and  his  business  discussed,  will  undoubtedly 
make  him  wise. 

And  so  I  think  you  will  all  agree  in  the  conclusion,  that  John 
does  well  to  saw  wood  for  the  maintenance  of  himself  and  the  little 
Johnnies.  — L  L.  E. 


A  LETTER  FROM  BABY  HORTENSE 

(Written  precisely  as  dictated.  Hortense  is  three  years  old) 
Dear  Papa: 

I  am  good  and  so  is  Ernest  and  Warring  and  Alice.  When  are 
you  coming  home  ?  Tipp  [the  dog]  is  sometimes  good,  and  sometimes 
bad.  I  did  not  go  to  the  concert,  because  I  had  to  go  to  bed.  Mamma 
has  a  new  carpet  in  her  room.  Dear  Papa  bring  me  a  wagon,  and  a 
doll  and  a  little  kitchen,  please  Papa.  This  blot  is  a  kiss  for  you,  I 
made  it  on  purpose.  I  got  a  blister  on  the  inside  of  my  hand,  but  it 
don't  hurt  me  much.  Harold  goes  out  doors  and  Harold's  got  a 
vaccinate.  With  love  from  Baby. 


FROM  THE  LOWER  CLASS  ROOM 

"The  Iliad  was  a  statue  that  was  supposed  to  speak." 

"The  Aeneid  was  written  by  Hercules  and  it  revived  farming." 
"Country  life  had  not  been  so  plenteous  as  it  had  before  the  book  was 
written." 

"Our  word  vestibule  comes  from  the  word  Vesta,  a  virgin  who 
always  kept  a  fire  burning  at  the  entrance  of  her  temple." 

"The  Acropolis  is  a  hill  in  Greece,  famous  for  so  many  theaters 
being  played  there." 

"The  poets  teach  by  the  cup  of  Circe  that  it  was  to  keep  away  the 
temptation  from  you.  You  get  so  fond  of  it  you  cannot  keep  away 
from  it." 

3i6 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

"The  British  troops  were  stationed  in  Flannel  Hall." 
"What  national  calamity  followed  the  Civil  War  ? 
"The  Emancipation  Proclamation." 
"How  would  you  correct — 'It  is  a  mighty  cold  day'? 
"I  don't  know  unless  you  say,  'It  is  an  almighty  cold  day.'  " 
"The  lagrippe  has  been  ragging  here." 
"Three  persons  sang  a  pretty  solo." 

"President  Cleveland  was  married,  and  the  sermon  took  place 
in  the  White  House." 

PENTAMETERS  AND  HEXAMETERS 

Composition 

THE  Literature  Class  in  the  study  of  Spenser  are  required  to 
construct  "Spenserian  stanzas."  A  peep  into  their  notebooks 
reveals  some  amusing  results  of  their  contest  with  pentameters  and 
hexameters. 

To  this  one  belongs  the  glory  of  having  embalmed  in  one  stanza 
the  Memories  of  King  Henry's  six  wives — a  feat  perhaps  never  before 
accomplished,  if  indeed  ever  attempted : 

"A  grewsome  man  was  this  great  King  of  old — 

He  dearly  loved  his  pride,  himself,  his  power, 
But  to  fair  Kate  of  Aragon  was  cold 

And  married  Anne,  the  maid  of  Katherine's  bower, 
For  three  short  years  Anne  Boleyn  lived  in  bliss, 

But  at  the  last  a  bloody  death  she  bore, 
And  was  succeeded  by  another  miss  (!) 

More  fortunate  than  she — young  Jane  Seymour, 
A  death  at  home  his  happy  queen  then  died. 

Next  Anne  of  Cleves,  then  Katherine's  luckless  star 
Made  it  her  fate  to  live  in  royal  pride. 

Then  last  of  all  his  loves  came  Widow  Parr 
Whose  reign  of  peace  and  joy  no  stumbling  block  did  mar." 

—A.   F. 

And  here  is  a  rendering  of  the  story  of  Red  Riding-Hood : 

"A  lovely  girlie  all  y-clad  in  red, 

With  eagerness  was  trudging  through  the  wood, 
Along  the  beaten  path  which  straightway  led 
To  where  her  grandma's  lowly  cottage  stood. 

317 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S 

Her  basket  laden  was  with  viands  good; 

With  dainty  fruits  and  cakes  that  had  been  sent 
To  soothe  the  suffering  dame  as  best  they  could, 

And  following  the  maide,  as  on  she  went, 
There  was  a  beast,  whose  eyes  were  ever  on  her  bent. 
Gallant  he  seemed,  and  took  her  heavy  load; 

And  having  reached  the  cottage  long  ere  she, 
He  took  the  grandma's  role  in  such  a  mode 

That  Riding-Hood  would  not  the  wiser  be. 
But  when  she  did  perceive  that  it  was  he, 

She  fled  into  a  closet  that  was  near, 
From  which  she  rescued  was  by  hunters  three. 

The  wolf  was  slain,  and  then  with  gladsome  cheer — 
One  lucky  hunter  found  a  very  lovely  deer  (dear)." 

— M.  F.  J.  A. 


BIRDS  OF  A  FEATHER  FLOCK  TOGETHER 

Composition 

DID  I  but  have  it  clear  in  my  mind  what  "a  feather"  means,  I 
might  be  able  to  do  more  with  this  subject.  I  cannot  decide 
whether  it  means  birds  that  have  one  feather  apiece,  or  a  collection 
of  birds  having  only  one  feather  between  them.  In  the  first  case,  I 
am  not  surprised  that  those  birds,  having  only  one  feather  with  which 
to  adorn  themselves,  should  wish  to  flock  together.  How  strange  it 
would  be  to  see  them  flying  around  with  other  birds!  For  instance, 
flying  with  the  bird  of  paradise.  Would  it  not  seem  queer  ?  I  wonder 
also  where  that  one  feather  would  grow,  would  it  "adorn  a  tail,"  or 
would  it  grow  elsewhere  ? 

In  the  second  case,  the  doubt  is  where  that  feather  would  be  if 
there  were,  well,  say  fifteen  birds  in  that  flock.  One  bird  could  not 
monopolize  the  feather,  and  certainly  they  could  not  all  wear  it  at 
once.  To  be  sure,  each  might  take  its  turn,  but  there  would  surely 
be  hen-pecking.  Each  would  complain  that  it  had  not  had  its  full 
share;  and  a  quarrel  not  unlike  that  of  the  three  sisters  who  had  only 
one  eye  between  them,  would  ensue.  Then,  too,  while  changing  the 
feather  from  one  to  another,  a  second  Perseus  might  capture  it. 

There  is  only  one  way  that  I  know  of  to  get  around  the  difficulty, 
that  is  to  suppose  that  the  birds  are  small,  the  feather  large,  and  that 
they  carry  it  over  them  like  an  umbrella.  But,  oh,  here  is  another 

318 


EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARTS 

difficulty!  It  rains,  and  the  birds  that  are  along  the  edge  of  the  party 
have  to  catch  on  their  necks  and  backs,  the  constant  dribble  from  the 
umbrella-like  feather.  What  can  they  do  in  that  case?  Won't  some 
kind  friend  help  me  out;  for  my  brain  is  in  such  confusion  that  I 
know  not  how  to  end?  — C.  L.  N.,  '87. 


319 


PRINTED    IN 

THE   UNITED    STATES    OP   AMERICA 

BY 

MOREHOUSE    PUBLISHING    CO. 

MILWAUKEE,   WIS. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

C.SA24MABE  C001 

EARLY  DAYS  AT  ST.  MARY'S  KNOXVILLE  ILLIN 


3  0112  025411148 


